Category
Intemperance
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12.12.11a tale of two campsHere's an interesting juxtaposition: from Minnesota Public Radio, the 55th anniversary of the burning of Swede Hollow: Some people thought of it as a sort of stopping off place on their way to greater prosperity, but for a lot of people it was the place where they lived. So, you paid five dollars a year for a right to live in that Swede Hollow. Early immigrants who came there, settled there. Some of them worked at the Hamm's brewery just above, some worked in construction in St. Paul. There's some indication that some of those Swede Hollow people helped build James ...
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08.09.11Stop kicking people when they’re downBarbara Ehrenreich, as always, hits the nail on the head in her observations on the tenth anniversary of Nickel and Dimed: So what is the solution to the poverty of so many of America’s working people? Ten years ago, when Nickel and Dimed first came out, I often responded with the standard liberal wish list -- a higher minimum wage, universal health care, affordable housing, good schools, reliable public transportation, and all the other things we, uniquely among the developed nations, have neglected to do. Today, the answer seems both more modest and more challenging: if we want to reduce poverty, we ...
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04.29.11The pith o’ sense, an’ pride o’ worth, are higher rank than a’ that.While I certainly wish the young Windsor couple all the happiness in the world, I do think any royal pomp deserves a Robert Burns poem in response. A Man's a Man for A' That by Robert Burns Is there for honesty poverty That hings his head, an' a' that; The coward slave - we pass him by, We dare be poor for a' that! For a' that, an' a' that, Our toils obscure an' a' that, The rank is but the guinea's stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that. What though on hamely fare we dine, Wear hoddin grey, an' a' that? Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine, A man's a ...
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03.23.11I’m hungry. I’m bored.Groupon sounds kind of like a whiny nine-year-old on Spring Break during a snowstorm. I've been encouraging the boys to earn their "living room survival merit badge" (because they've expressed great interest in the wilderness survival merit badge, but so far aren't showing quite the fortitude they'll need to be turned loose in the woods overnight with a pocketknife, a tarp, and a pocket full of crackers). I worry that the smart-phone powered Groupon Now is going to make my Scout leader job a little tougher.
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03.02.11The New NihilismIn any democratic political system, but especially in one with divided powers, no compromise means no governance. The Republicans’ Radical Nihilism
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01.18.11I didn’t write itThe new book about Obama, that is. This "O", not that one (which I also didn't write, though both are pseudonymous/anonymous in nature; I haven't actually read either, and am unlikely to do so). I say this not because anyone has asked, of course, but because I find the Simon & Schuster instructions about not disclosing that one didn't write it a little annoying: You may be asked to comment on whether or not you are the author. If so, it would be great if you refrained from commenting, in solidarity with the principle that a book should be ...
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01.12.11Right on, Mr. Sullivan!She can only win in a hugely polarized country. She has as little support outside the Republican base as she has a cult following within it. And she has decided that this occasion for introspection is actually an opportunity to double down. Andrew Sullivan
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01.10.11Thinking sociologically about the Tucson shootingThe attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords, and the murder of six people at Giffords' "Congress on Your Corner" event on Saturday, has weighed heavily on me all weekend. This is partially a very personal response: the little girl who was murdered was only two weeks younger than my sons, and sounds very much like the boys' classmates: smart, inquisitive, and full of life. And a "Congress on Your Corner" is exactly the sort of event I'd take my Cub Scouts to; anything that makes government close and personal is a good way to introduce kids to politics. I've also ...
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12.07.10Thanks, but no thanks, Williams-Sonoma …photo by ohdearbarbDear Williams-Sonoma, Hey, thanks for the e-mail thanking me for my "interest," but I am not, in fact, interested in your Whoopie Pie Pans. At least, not "interested" in the way that would lead me ever to buy one. My thesaurus points to "concern" as a synonym for "interest," and maybe that's closer, though I suppose my concerns about the Whoopie Pie Pan doesn't really rise to that level. "Horror," too, is a bit strong, as is "revulsion," "disgust," and even "aversion." "Puzzlement," maybe. "Bemusement," certainly. Basically, I had to look at your catalog's entry for ...
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11.01.10
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