A selection of favorites from the editors of Ordinary Times
Celebrating The Judiciary( 98 )
In which Burt Likko envies Canada for its annual commemoration of courts expanding individual rights.
In Which I Go to the Spa( 40 )
Cucumber or lemon?
Habemus Gubernationis( 136 )
A deal? Really? And with literally hours to spare! Discuss.
Gasping in an airless system( 166 )
You say you’d like to breathe? Splendid. That will be $100, please.
Is Poverty Real?( 230 )
An intellectual acknowledgment of poverty is not the same thing as believing in poverty and acting accordingly.
How $55.7 Million Doesn’t Equal $634 Million( 38 )
There is no denying that the rollout of the Obamacare exchange website has thus far been a complete and utter disaster. I tend to agree with the assessment that if these problems aren’t fixed – and soon – it will start to ensure that the “young invincibles” that Obamacare needs to have any chance at…
On Obamacare and the Real U.S. Healthcare Crisis, Part I: A Look In The Rearview Mirror( 119 )
The US healthcare system is about to radically change, whether or not Obamacare stands. Exactly how it’s going to change, and the degree to which that change will be good or bad for the country, is a choice we still need to make. Before we can make that choice, however, we need to understand how we got here in the first place.
Oyez, Oyez( 241 )
It’s the first Monday in October. Burt Likko offers a preview of the high points of the Supreme Court’s docket, and some other interesting notes.
Mullah Nasreddin: Persian parables for our times( 30 )
Precis: President Hassan Rouhani arrived back in Iran to a mixed reception: praise from most, but thrown shoes and eggs from some. President Rouhani has the blessing of the Supreme Leader Ali Khameini: the hardliners can do little to oppose either of them. Several Persian fables serve to make my point.
Getting The Vapors( 35 )
Will Truman has been tobacco-free for six weeks. But not nicotine-free. Exploring the implications of smoke-free smoking.
The 10 Biggest Lies Being Told About the Government Shutdown( 294 )
If you’ve been listening to cable news, talk radio or your local Republican Congressman talk about our current government shutdown, chances are that much or all of what you’ve heard is a lie. Here is a list of the ten biggest whoppers being floated today.
Radical Libertarianism is the Drug War’s Best Friend( 187 )
Libertarians largely agree that the Drug Wars needs to end. Their latest Internet folk hero, however, might make ending those Wars that much harder.
Sugar and the Real Reason for Cruz’s Opposition( 130 )
Ted Cruz is worried about sugar addiction. Or rather, that Obamacare is like sugar addiction. He uses the metaphor over and over. Why? His point is this: once Obamacare is passed, Americans will get used to the sugar of health care insurance exchanges and won’t want to give it up. So we must fight it…
Impotence in the Age of Distraction( 129 )
Franzen argues that modernity has left Americans mired in distraction, and critics help prove his point.
Reproduction In The Face of Modernity( 101 )
In a world where we have trouble feeding the population we have, it may seem silly to worry about people not breeding enough. Jonathan Last makes the case that the western world needs to be worried about just that.
It’s Time to Unbundle Health Insurance and Health Care( 196 )
John C. Goodman in his book Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis argues that Obamacare will not make health care better or more affordable because it doubles down on the same genetic defects as before–the ill-conceived bundling of health care and health insurance. Reformers opposed to Obamacare will be unable to propose a real solution until they see the problem.
Briefly, on Rationality and Addiction( 68 )
Sam Wilkinson looks at addiction, sobriety, and why being rational about either isn’t as easy as it first appears.
Why I Stopped Allowing Comments on My Posts( 2 )
Since I published a snarky piece clowning Internet Commenters today, I decided that it might be worth offering a few serious thoughts about comments sections. I don’t want my only words on the subject to be flippant.
When it doesn’t help to check the label( 50 )
Cold and flu season is coming. Why is the FDA making the treatment potentially more dangerous than the illness?
The Cleric and the Bombers: Iran’s Hassan Rouhani( 58 )
Precis: In a crucial moment of opportunity, Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s new president, extends the hand of diplomacy. President Obama’s team, surprised and gratified, grasp for Rouhani’s hand. If the handshake pans out, this rapprochement will be Obama’s greatest triumph. Rouhani is no saint but will operate in his own best interests.
California Dreaming: A Look at How the Right-Wing Media and Republican Establishment are Conning Their Own Senior Citizens – Literally( 157 )
The Chair of Citizens United teams up with conservative news sites to offer Republican senior citizens the right-wing version of the Nigerian prince scam.
Nihil Novi Sub Sole( 112 )
An unemployed California surfer buys lobster with his SNAP card — wait, where have I heard this before?
Freedom of Internet Navigation and Privacy is a US National Interest.( 45 )
Abusing its power as the custodian of internet traffic is going to cost the US. Why the US should learn the lessons of Pax Brittanica and work to restore the world’s trust as guarantor of data freedom.
Race and Culture( 284 )
Mike Dwyer wonders how much of what we view as racism is in fact a clash of cultures.
Nazism is Dead, Long Live Marx( 245 )
I recently wrote about how radical intellectuals are treated as ipso facto irresponsible or abhorrent in middlebrow American ideas magazines where little comprehension of their thought is even attempted. I was talking about the liberal-ish ones like the New Republic and the New York Review of Books. If we expanded that out to include conservative magazines;…
