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Your Mid-August Reading Tips, Part II
For yesterday's installment, see this. Today's are China-themed.1) "You'll Never Be Chinese," by Mark Kitto, in Prospect magazine from England. There is a lot to say about this piece, and a lot of...
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Away From the Internet, Over the Center of America
I've been seeing America from an unusual and (in my opinion) absorbing and revealing perspective these past two-and-a-half days, about which I'll say more later. One thing I'll say now is that the...
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Truth, Lies, Politics, and the Press, in Three Acts
Catching up on several related indicators, which together might point toward a positive and potentially major development in journalism and public life.1) An excellent item this week by the Atlantic's...
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As a Harvard Alum, I Apologize
Yes, I know, you could imagine many sentences that would follow that headline. But here is what I have in mind right now: A tenured professor of history at my undergraduate alma mater has written a...
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A Last Note on Niall Ferguson
1) Some people don't like the headline I put on my complaint about Niall Ferguson's NewsBeast cover story, which was: "As a Harvard Alum, I Apologize." Sorry! This was in the mode of a little joke. As...
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On an Entirely Different Front
If you find yourself in Grand Island, Nebraska, as I did this morning, I recommend Trego/Dugan Aviation, the "FBO of the Plains," at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport. The "tail-dragger" plane in...
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'Windmills,' Isohyets, and Other Wonders of the Great Plains From Above
Late last night I put up a few pictures from a flight across the parched Great Plains and cropland region. Closing-the-circle updates:1) This morning on our site, Rebecca Rosen posted some satellite...
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Our New Issue: Obama, Race, Debates, Ladies of Fox, Etc.
Our new issue is on newsstands, in mailboxes, and on line.* Ta-Nehisi Coates has a very much-worth-reading assessment of Barack Obama as Black President. Six months ago I had a long article assessing...
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Housekeeping Note: Doing a Reddit Session at 11am EDT Today
Earlier this year, after my "Obama Explained" article, I did an hour-long live Reddit "AMA" [Ask Me Anything] session, of which the transcript is here. I'm about to do another one, on my new article...
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Rhythm, Repetition, and the 'Book of Common Prayer'
The more we read, the more we see reminders that experiences or perceptions we thought were distinctive to us are in fact widespread, even banal. This is encouraging, about the universality of...
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Neil Armstrong
I had a chance to meet and talk with him briefly once, at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of powered flight, at Kitty Hawk in 2003. The crowd was full of aviation icons, from Chuck Yeager to...
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False-Equivalence Watch: A Positive Sign
From today's front-page NYT story by Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg, with an overview of the Romney strategy for the getting-serious-now stage of the election:The Romney campaign is airing an...
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Why Did English Stop Changing? Let's Blame the Book of Common Prayer
I mentioned recently the grooves that the Book of Common Prayer had laid down in my brain -- as, it appears, it has done across much of the Anglosphere. Americans may underestimate the extent of this...
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Hot Off the Press: Latest 'Washington Monthly' College Rankings
A year ago I explained why I considered the Washington Monthly's college-ranking standards so big an improvement over the familiar original version from US News.* For more background on these and other...
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Taking the Filibuster to Court: Here Are the Documents
As I mentioned a few months ago, Common Cause is taking legal action against the filibuster, arguing that its recent abuse rises to the level of unconstitutional power-grab. When our site's...
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Bit by Bit It Takes Shape: Media Evolution for the 'Post-Truth' Age
Over the years, and in a few posts this month, I've mentioned signs that the mainstream press is adjusting to the realities of "post-truth politics." Reporters are happiest, safest-feeling, and most...
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Paul Ryan and the Post-Truth Convention Speech
Paul Ryan's speech was well-written, well- delivered, and well-received. All of that was evident to anyone watching on TV. It had a number of nice smilingly vicious hit lines -- starting with the...
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Entirely Different Topic: Sad Goodbye to the Redskins' Chris Cooley
This may be of purely local interest here in DC-sports land, but I find it surprisingly saddening and discouraging to see the way the Shanahans pere et fils have let go one of their two most stalwart,...
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Found Art Department, RNC Edition
From USA Today, today: From the Philadelphia Inquirer two days ago:Reader JB says, "I bring you Isaac Christie." And, yes, before you ask, will happily collect and share similar gems from the DNC as...
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Three 'Post-Truth' Related Items
1) A very good essay by David Roberts, in Grist, on how politicians, regular people, and members of the media are finding their footing in the era of "post-truth politics." I mention it because it's...
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