When Tom Snyder asked John Lennon in the famous Tomorrow Show interview why he became a musician and formed a band, Lennon replied slyly, “For the birds, Tom. That’s why every guy does it. To get girls….” Pattie Boyd was one of the most famous of “the birds….” Now Boyd has published her autobiography. It […]
Archive | August, 2007
Who will provide answers to the most basic of questions?
As an inquisitive person trying to survive life relatively unscathed and to leave the world at least a little better off for my presence, I need answers to two fundamental questions: How does the world work? Why does it work that way? We all struggle, I suppose, with the really big question: What is the […]
Sticks and Stones
By Rori Black A beautiful young blonde stares into the camera, “whore” written on the duct tape over her mouth. Her defiant eyes speak the words that the slur tried to silence. In another photo, she stares over her shoulder, the words “Fat ass” taped to her back, pointing at her anything-but-fat derrière. I spoke […]
VerseDay: All hail bad poets!
In 1682 or thereabouts the English poet John Dryden’s famous mock-epic, “MacFlecknoe,” was published (perhaps without the author’s consent). In it Dryden butchers his contemporary, the comparatively less talented Thomas Shadwell (who nonetheless became Poet Laureate later on), a man with whom Dryden had a series of disagreements (artistic, religious and political). The premise of […]
Will Iran’s good nuclear report card slow the march to war?
Even though Mohamed ElBaradei is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, he’s not resting on his laurels. Continuing in his role as the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he handed in his report on Iran’s nuclear program to the IAEA’s Board of Governors yesterday. Reuters got a hold of a copy and summed it […]
S&R hits significant milestone: thanks, everybody!
On April 16 we launched Scholars & Rogues.
Education for the next generation of journalism: a Scholars & Rogues special report
It doesn’t seem controversial to suggest that journalism in America (and beyond) is in trouble, and there are any number of factors contributing to the malaise. A particular concern of mine has been the decline in the efficacy of what we’ll call “objective journalism” – that is, the institutionalized press that dominated newsgathering and production […]
Quotabull
Q: The Lower 9th Ward is one of the most impoverished areas of the region. Many residents who lived there before felt neglected. What do you say if they today now feel that way, that, well, they’re not back up to snuff, whereas everybody else is much further ahead? CHAIRMAN POWELL: I say to those […]
It’s the end of the world, apparently
:UPDATED BELOW: “If you want to see hate, urged violence, bigotry, racism, and intolerance in general, and anti-American speech, this is the event.” “[It's] bigger than any KKK, Nazi, or Muslim terrorist gathering … that has ever occurred…” “If we ignore these growing, this growing radical segment of our society, they could and likely will […]
Misguided University of Colorado response to campus stabbing: is it about safety or is it about litigation and the media?
On Monday, an incoming freshman at the University of Colorado was injured in a knife attack by a mentally ill former university employee. The student is fine, fortunately, and the assailant is in custody. As the Denver Post story notes, there are some disturbing issues where the attacker is concerned. The suspect, identified as 39-year-old […]
Science reporting, objectivity, advocacy, and global heating
What does it really mean to be “objective?” Someone trained in the sciences will have a different answer than someone trained as a journalist. Scientists and engineers most often use the following definition: “expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations” (from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). […]
Iran may be a once and future threat, but al-Qaeda is a clear and present danger
Speaking before an American Legion group yesterday, President Bush described Iran as the “world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.” Its pursuit of technology which could lead to nuclear weapons, he added, threatens to put the region “under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust.” To most Americans this is just bluster. They can’t imagine that the […]
John Edwards’ Katrina fix: rhetoric vs. reality
Former Sen. John Edwards, a Democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States, has proposed, with the exquisite timing of a politician, on the cusp of the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a six-point plan to “Help Get New Orleans Back on its Feet.” His proposals would address nursing and other medical shortages, safety […]
Saturday Video Roundup, Tuesday Special Edition: breaking developments in Miss Teen SC case
The hottest thing on the Internets right now is the video of Miss Teen South Carolina trying, unsuccessfully, to answer a painfully simple question. In this SVR Special Report, we look at new developments in this breaking story. First, for those of you who had trouble following Miss Upton’s answer, here’s a subtitled version, which […]
Blackwater Flies…
Our friends at Blackwater Security are creating their own air force. The company which provides “security solutions” by contract to the United States in Iraq (and is building bases in every coastal state in the US), already has a fleet of armed helicopters which it uses in Iraq. The first of the planes that Blackwater […]
MaxSpeak no more
By Martin Bosworth I know I’m crazy with the posting today, but I wanted to mention another resignation that will be much less heralded, and much more lamented: Economist and uber-progressive blogger Max Sawicky is hanging it up. I’m a latecomer to Max’s readership, but his work has inspired me to be a better, stronger […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- “Where Girls Grow Strong” – and Boy Scouts follow
- Atheists in heaven? Vatican spin machine leaps into action
- I-5 bridge collapse: reflecting on our crumbling infrastructure
- UPDATED: Pope Francis says atheists can go to heaven: Sweet Jesus! The College of Cardinals done elected a hippie
- Magic Hat vs. West Sixth brewhaha: will MH win the battle that costs them the war?
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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Henry Earl: Incorrect, West Sixth has offered to make changes …
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dmitry solovyev: I am russian and about because of two cruel war be…
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Lex: That's what i say when people quote the Bible, sin…
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geral sosbee (@gsosbee): Thanks for the report; pls see a few of mine which…
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