Yesterday’s announcement that the U.S. Supreme Court has accepted an appeal from a rejected white applicant to the University of Texas-Austin reminds me that every time the constitutionality of affirmative action returns to the issues agenda, one question is always left out: Why didn’t the applicant suing a university for accepting minorities with a less […]
I’m reading a very fascinating scholarly study called Cultures of War by MIT history professor John Dower. Professor Dower analyzes in detail the similarities in the cultural assumptions, bureaucratic decision-making processes, fascination with technology, religious orientation, use of propaganda and strategic military imperatives of four events that serve as symbolic points in the cultural history […]
It is one of those rare poetic coincidences that both the Westminster Dog Show and New York Fashion Week unfolded in the same week this year. Some might even call it proof of an intelligent, if satirical, design behind cultural history. Imagine: while pedigree dogs bred and trained to an arbitrary standard are parading around […]
Read More… from New York Fashion Week and Westminster Dogs: lots of prancing in NYC this week
An article in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week depicted the various ways that employers can legally raid the pension fund of their employees and retirees. The premise of the article, titled “Signs Your Pension Plan Is in Trouble,” was that even healthy pensions plans that are adequately funded can be in trouble. The […]
Read More… from There are too many ways that employers can raid pension plans of workers
The banter between Republicans and Democrats on extending the temporary cut on the Social Security tax continues to take place in an alternative universe. In the real world, cutting a program that is part of the budget doesn’t offset a temporary decrease in the Social Security tax, since Social Security is administered by a special […]
“Tell me what you think makes a person right wing extremist.” That’s the question posed to me on a personal tweet I received yesterday from someone names Silly Girl. Silly Girl describes herself as “pro-life” and a “Tea Party Patriot.” Responding to Silly Girl’s question takes far more characters than Twitter’s limit. Twitter is great […]
Is it a matter of women’s rights or is it a matter of religious freedom? That question has grown to become one of the major concerns of the mainstream news media since the Obama Administration mandated that contraception be covered in all health insurance policies. The answer to this question of definition determines where you […]
February 8, 2012 Newt Gingrich has persisted in calling President Obama the “food stamp” president, despite the fact that more people went on food stamps during Bush II’s presidency than during the Obama presidency. What I find interesting is how many people, both conservative and progressive, assume that the statement is inherently racist. And behind […]
While channel-surfing last night I stumbled on a TV commercial selling the idea that people should say ”please” and “thank you.” After the Miss Manners seminar, the ad sends the viewer to the Values.com website. The values.com website is a hodgepodge of feel-good slogans and stories, sponsored by something called The Foundation for a Better […]
February 2 2012 It’s time for anyone who supports a woman’s right to an abortion to stop giving money to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and to stop participating in its walks. Send your money to other organizations fighting breast cancer. But by no means should you reward the Komen Foundation for ending its funding […]