Category: A Healthy Commotion

Ethan Gach

/// August 27, 2013

Jonathan Chait Shakes His Head at “Younger Liberal Friends”

Jonathan Chait is reasonably sure that “killing some of the Syrians who are soldiers wantonly killing civilians will probably lead to a net decrease in killing,” and with that let the bombing commence.

Shawn Gude

/// August 12, 2013

Poverty Sucks. Let’s Get Rid of It.

Is the left more concerned with governing the poor than ending poverty?

Ethan Gach

/// August 12, 2013

In Praise of Leisure and the Pitfalls of Unions

Mark Linsenmayer outlines Bertrand Russell’s case in “In Praise of Idleness” for a shorter work week. Writing in the early 20th century, Russell spent most of his essay confronting the moralistic arguments against leisure....

Elias Isquith

/// August 2, 2013

Poverty: Giving a Damn

It’s just awful hard for me to take the technocratically-minded conservative arguments especially seriously when it’s so evident that many conservatives — high-up ones, not just low-level activists — really don’t give a damn about poverty.

Murali

/// August 2, 2013

Political Liberalism (Against Radicalism)

Liberalism may not be the best according to radicals, but it is good enough and in fact our only hope.

Ethan Gach

/// August 1, 2013

De-gendering the School

I was originally going to post on this in more detail, but that was before I’d had time to finish the entire piece. It turns out Rod Dreher doesn’t just think that Arcadia Unified...

Ethan Gach

/// July 31, 2013

Chase the Economy but Don’t Lose Sight of Immigration

I want to elaborate on something Elias touches on in his recent Salon piece. Declaring the Republican Party paralyzed by their on strategy of obstructionist nihilism, Elias explains,

Elias Isquith

/// July 31, 2013

A New Kind of Grand Bargain

Alex Pareene noticed this, too, but something I wanted to highlight is the fact that the president’s calling his new proposal — a cut to corporate tax rates in exchange for using the freed-up money...

Elias Isquith

/// July 30, 2013

Silicon Stupid

An instant classic in the field of so-bad-it’s-good.

Ethan Gach

/// July 30, 2013

Of Radicals and Liberals

It won’t come as a surprise that I tend to agree with Shawn’s assessment of mainstream liberalism’s relationship to its leftier-than-thou radicals. In the comments though, NewDealer’s remark helps crystalize the real conflict,

Elias Isquith

/// July 29, 2013

What Mitt Romney Meant

A new Economist piece sheds light on whether or not Romney’s 2012 rhetoric was as plastic as it seemed.

Elias Isquith

/// July 29, 2013

The Sequester: Still a Thing

The most obvious and lasting results of the sequester are being felt by those who need the government most, and influence it the least.

Elias Isquith

/// July 27, 2013

The Inequality President

Reading the interview, you get the impression of a guy already trying to define the way his presidency is interpreted and his immediate post-presidency is understood.

Elias Isquith

/// July 26, 2013

Obama’s Speech at Knox College

The speech was fine, but it never should have been given.

Ethan Gach

/// July 25, 2013

Beyond Redemption

There’s a frequent exchange that appears in one form or another throughout Plato’s dialogues. It focuses on the question of whether it’s better to suffer or be the one inflicting the suffering. Of course,...

Elias Isquith

/// July 25, 2013

A Healthy Commotion – An Introduction

Ordinary Times is proud to introduce its latest sub-blog, penned by our own Elias Isquith, Ethan Gach, and Shawn Gude.

Editor Picks

From New Jersey News Network: N.J. Lawmakers Pass Legal Marijuana Bill; Make Growing At Home A Felony

January 26, 2021

Food, or Eating Your Beans and Cornbread Thankfully Like An Adult

January 26, 2021

Ten Second News

From New Jersey News Network: N.J. Lawmakers Pass Legal Marijuana Bill; Make Growing At Home A Felony

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From NJNN:

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey legislators have approved three bills that reshaped how the Garden State handles drug use involving marijuana.

The state’s Senate and Assembly voted first to create a new and legal marijuana industry from scratch and called for new regulations to be written within six months.

Additionally, both houses approved a bill that decriminalizes possession of up to six ounces of cannabis. That second bill is designed to stop arrests and expunge criminal records of low-level marijuana offenses.

...

Now, the Garden State is set to become the only state in the U.S. where adults can legally use, possess, and purchase cannabis while still risking prison for growing marijuana at home—under any circumstances.

(Featured image is "NEW JERSEY 1953 ---FARM USE LICENSE PLATE" by woody1778a and is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

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From the Wall Street Journal: Apollo CEO Leon Black to Step Down Following Review of Jeffrey Epstein Ties

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From the WSJ:

Leon Black plans to step down as chief executive of Apollo Global Management Inc. after an independent review revealed larger-than-expected payments to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that it nevertheless deemed justified.

The months long review by Dechert LLP found no evidence that Mr. Black was involved in the criminal activities of the late Epstein, who was indicted in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges involving underage girls, according to a copy of the law firm’s report that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

In its report, Dechert found the fees that the billionaire had paid Epstein were for legitimate advice on trust- and estate-tax planning that proved to be of significant value to Mr. Black and his family. Mr. Black paid Epstein a total of $148 million, plus a $10 million donation to his charity—far more than was previously known.

(Featured image is "Did You Say 'Bribe'?" by ccPixs.com and is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

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Transgender Military Ban Lifted: Read President Biden’s Executive Order For Yourself

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President Joe Biden has signed a promised executive order reversing Pentagon policy banning transgender individuals from military service.

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Buy American: President Biden’s Executive Order

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Read it for yourself then discuss President Biden's executive order on strengthening the "Buy American Act"

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders Running for Governor of Arkansas

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Watch her announcement and discuss Sarah Huckabee Sanders as she announces a long-rumored run for the statehouse in Little Rock.

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Pardon Me, Sir

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The full list of pardons and commutations President Trump has issued on his last day in office, with a little help from Grey Poupon

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Ryan Adams Cleared by the FBI

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While Adams still has the pall of being an asshole hanging over his head, none of those come with possible felonies attached.

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Ten Second News →

Ordinary Pivot

Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition

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When I was a kid, I heard a handful of references to "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" but I had always assumed that the song was a parody. Like, it was a much more bitter "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" from Country Joe and the Fish.

I've recently had an opportunity to listen to the song a couple of times and was inspired to do research into it and, as it turns out, it was written in 1942 as a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

I've listened to three or four versions of the song but have concluded that this version is my favorite. I hope you like it too.