On November 19, 1863, as President Lincoln stood to deliver the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, he could not have foreseen how the nation he envisioned as the […]
Even if states balance budgets, services cuts, high taxes, fees likely to stay
For the first time in many years, the state of New York owes me a tax refund — all of $13. But our governor, David Paterson, doesn’t want to give it to […]
Nota Bene #102: Dancing Limbaughs
“What they really want to see is, they want you to chop your fucking arm off, hold up your arm, wave it around spewing blood, and believe me, if you did that, […]
Nota Bene #101: Your Pal, Mike S.
“The guys who are shooting films now are technically brilliant, but there’s no content in their films. I marvel at what I see and wish I could have done a shot like […]
Take a tea partier to bed to save American democracy
Never thought I’d invite a member of the Tea Party to join political forces with me. But it’s going to take an odd and broad coalition of folks who comprise “We the […]
Massachusetts
Martha Coakley blew a 31 point lead to lose in the Massachusetts senate race by running one of he worst campaigns in modern memory. More to the point, Democrats just didn’t come out to vote. What should Obama do now?
Tony Judt, Hero
Tony Judt has been a leading historian of, and thinker about, the post-war world for a number of decades. On any number of grounds, he is one of the positive contributors to the world. He also has amytrophic lateral sclerosis, a form of motor neuron disease, and he is degenerating rapidly. And he has a new goal–convincing the young that government is not the enemy.
They're winning. We're losing. Why?
They’re winning. They’ve been winning for a long time. They’ve convinced us that the national conversation is not about a contest over power and control but rather about twisted definitions of patriotism, […]
Getting democracy right one restaurant at a time
You’re going to find this outrageous. Last week, the wife and I went out for dinner to a new restaurant in our neighbourhood. The food was awful and the service insulting. Afterwards […]
Nota Bene #99: Heed the Peace Gnome
“You just pick up a chord, go twang, and you’ve got music.” Who said it?
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 