Politics
At the recommendation of friends, I took a book on my recent vacation. The book, “The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics,” is the most cynical nonfiction I have read, drawing parallels between how democracies and autocracies operate. But. . . Authors Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and
Bicycle Lanes
I’m only human (despite what some of you have heard). I like it when my opinions, and predictions, are found to be valid. Such as what’s jumping with the unwanted and unneeded redesign of Philadelphia’s most beautiful mile (aside from East Allegheny Avenue) — the Benjamin Franklin Racist
Immigration
So now we have a new theory to learn: Replacement Theory, to go along with Critical Race Theory, and Social & Emotional Learning Theory, as things that divide Americans. What moves Replacement Theory to the head of the line was how it helped push 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron into a
Culture
Yesterday’s column ended with me saying we had nostalgia about earlier days, signifying the column itself was nostalgia, and nostalgia is always sentimental and golden. Even as I wrote the column, I knew I was turning a blind eye to some of the bad things about “my” America, the
Culture
When I saw that headline in last Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, I thought, yessssss! Finally, they get it. Then — uh-oh. Who is the “we” Will Bunch is talking about? When he writes about America, his column is the predictable porridge of pessimism and grievance. In this one, the world is
Supreme Court
I don’t like the tactic of protesting in front of someone’s home — but I have done it myself. Since it was not at a judge’s residence, it was perfectly legal. It was many years ago, when the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer were flush, actually
ACLU
I’ve often been ambivalent about the ACLU -- the American Civil Liberties Union. Since it's founding in New York City in 1920 by Roger Baldwin and others, the ACLU’s mission was to protect Americans' rights and freedoms as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and
Abortion
Cards on the table: While I find abortion to be awful, I would not ban it. Can any rational person “like” it? Going back to the 1992 Bill Clinton dictum, it should be safe, rare, and legal. That was brilliantly crafted as an umbrella to include pro-choicers, alongside those who
Russia
May 9th is Victory Day in Russia, the national holiday that commemorates the Soviet victory over the Nazis. It is an important date on the calendar, because Russia lost more of its people to the Nazis than any other nation. An estimated 27 million Soviets died, most of them Russian.
Race
The recent approval of the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court led me to reflect on her “privilege,” meaning two caring parents who valued education, the gift of high IQ, plus her determination and her quality education at Harvard. I imagine she had a
Freedom of Speech
I am in Facebook jail again, so that’s good news to subscribers here. Without that massive platform, I will be pouring more work into this outlet. Can I hear an amen? This is at least the fourth time my privileges have been revoked by Team Zuckerberg, which makes me
Politics
I get on a lot of strange email mailing lists, maybe because I support candidates from a range of political parties — Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Natural Law. I have been getting fund-raising appeals from Louisiana U.S. Senator John Kennedy, no relation to the former president. He’s on talk shows