We do not know the amount of invisible money injected into politics that resulted from the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in January that permitted anonymous corporate political spending. But we can […]
Short fiction satisfies quickly, succinctly
by Zack Witzel Succinct. Compact. Crisp. A successful short story can captivate. It can console. It can discomfort. And all in just one sitting. In short fiction, writers must force themselves to […]
The government’s checkbook too screwed up to audit, says GAO
You know the company’s in trouble when the auditor tells the company that its bookkeeper can’t manage the company’s finances, reconcile balance sheets among different departments, or prepare credible financial statements. And […]
The Shortest Day redux
So I’m sitting here relaxed, nursing a nice dark winter beer, the tree lights are on, as are the lights outside, there’s still lots of snow on the ground, and maybe more […]
The root of all evil will rule mid-term elections
Come Tuesday, Nov. 2, it will not matter whether you vote Democratic, Republican, Independent, Green, Tea, or write-in. That’s because the winning entity will not be on the ballot — and hasn’t […]
Hedge funds, sensing profit opportunities, buying distressed newspapers
And now, newspapers’ newest problem: The vultures have descended. Newspapers continue to lose money and advertising – the New York Times Co. reported print ads would decline 5 percent in the third […]
Speaker wannabee Boehner recycling platitudes of speakers past
The three pillars of any democracy are the rule of law, transparency, and a functioning civil society. Over decades, all three of these pillars have been chipped away in the people’s House. […]
Questioning authenticity
by Ann Ivins “An authentic life.” For some reason, this phrase, neither new nor newly trendy, has been popping up more and more in reading, conversations, casual messages and in-depth debates in […]
Review: Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis
I recently completed my fifth trip through Joseph Ellis’s indispensable Founding Brothers. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2001, the book provides one of the best all-around glimpses of the […]
So who won the best novel Hugo?
The results are now out for the 2010 Hugo awards, at the World Science Fiction convention in Australia this year. Congratulations are in order for all the winners in every category, but […]
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 