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Partisanship Is Bad, But the Kagan Vote Is Not the Proof
I yield to no one in my despair about the U.S. Senate and the general gridlock of American public life. But I was surprised by this line in today's Politico story, about the Senate's vote yesterday to...
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Jimmy Carter: King of Beers
Because of my association with Jimmy Carter (years ago), and with beers (over the years), I am obliged to recognize, with admiration, our 39th president's role in reviving America's brewing industry....
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Modest Proposal: Fixed Tenure for the Supreme Court
A reader writes in response to this item about the Kagan confirmation vote and the general depressing ritual of Supreme Court confirmation fights: As you rightly said it has become a Kabuki spectacle...
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Three Bing-v-Google follow ups
Reader responses to this recent item, arguing that Bing was not yet closing the gap on Google. 1) A reader whose first name is Yong suggests this control-group test: For reasons unknown, I've...
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An 18-Year Plan for the Supreme Court
In response to this item yesterday, about the distortions caused by lifetime Supreme Court appointments in the era of longevity, reader Jim Strickler has a specific plan:How about 18-year terms with...
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OK, You Pomplamoose Mockers
As promised, no more posting on music themes [for a while], in the interests of generational concord.But tell me what is not impressive or interesting about Jack Conte's (50% of Pomplamoose) promo...
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Welcome Damien Ma
The Atlantic's roster of online Correspondents is ever-expanding and -improving. If I noted each interesting post in that space, that is all I'd ever do. Two recent illustrations: here and here.So...
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Why Are There So Many Airplane Crashes in Alaska?
In the wake of this latest crash, sympathies to all affected, and good wishes for those who have initially survived. A word of context about flying in Alaska. Does it merely seem more dangerous than...
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Alaskan Flying
I mentioned yesterday the unique world of Alaskan aviation: more dangerous than elsewhere in the country, but also more necessary. As a sign of the ubiquity of aviation in Alaska, consider this Google...
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Our Life in Japan
I made a deal with our sons to stop using them as cameo figures in articles once they got to an age when they might come across a magazine around the house and see something about themselves. Which is...
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The Teva Menace: Pro and Con
After yesterday's report about four-year-old girls taking off their sandals in the airport security line, one reader writes: Several years ago, a TSA agent at the Islip/Macarthur NY airport made us...
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More on Mullen, Twitter, and the Ethics of WikiLeaks
I mentioned late last night my surprise at seeing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, resorting to Twitter to deplore the ethics of WikiLeaks. After the jump, a note from...
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Today's Oshkosh Action Photo
In my other life, I would have spent this past week and the next few days in Oshkosh, WI, for the annual "EAA Airventure" show/fly-in. This is where many hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts amass,...
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The Wonders of Language: Norwegians in Brooklyn
This is the theme that never stops giving. For instance: I mentioned recently, as an off-hand illustration of improbable matchups, "someone from Norway speaking English with a Brooklyn accent."...
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True/Slant RIP
I hadn't realized, until I looked there just now to check a Miles O'Brien update on "space news" for something I am writing, that the very promising-seeming site True/Slant has closed down this...
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Harmony with Fox News: the Haynesworth Test
A reporter for the local Fox TV station did something I'd been thinking about, which nudged me to try it myself. She took the "Haynesworth test."Le tout Washington DC is in a snarl about the standoff...
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You Learn Something Every Day: "Choropleth"
John Gerth, of the computer science department at Stanford, sent a link to a powerful illustration, by Latoya Egwuekwe, of the spreading effects of unemployment across the country during this...
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A Different View on True/Slant
I mentioned yesterday that I had enjoyed the site True/Slant and was sorry that, after its acquisition by Forbes, it was closing down. I said that the theme of the era for journalism was "experiment,...
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New Hope for Veteran (Foreign) Teachers in China!
Late last year, I mentioned reports I'd received from foreign teachers in China, who said that their visas were being revoked (or turned down for renewal) as soon as they reached age 60. Main post...
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This Is Not My Normal Beat (Bloomberg & Mosque Dept) ...
... but I have to say that all Americans are New Yorkers today, in the wake of Mayor Bloomberg's brave and eloquent defense of American tolerance, and the resilient strength of America's diverse...
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