Category: Uncategorized
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A Debate and an Election, Then(Maybe)Three Big Messes–a Brief Lecture on British and American Politics
The next British Parliamentary Election is set for July 4. No, I don’t think it was done as a joke or an exercise in irony. Nonetheless the date is striking. Our(ostensible)date of Independence may become Britain’s date of dependence on a new kind of politics. First Past the Post(FPTP) voting may yield, eventually, to something…
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And It’s Still The Case
More than half a year ago, on the day Hamas launched its murderous attack on Israelis, I did an article I entitled “The Biden-Blinken Nightmare–Two Foreign Crises, One Domestic One and No Apparent Solution.” Now we have a very similar situation. We still have the two foreign crises, the same ones in different stages. We…
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A Reflection Upon Tragedy and Inspiration
Elaine Pagels, “Why Religion? A Personal Story” Harper Collins, 2018, 216 pp I first read this book sometime ago and for, well, awhile, had thought to make it the subject of a blog. I knew it would not interest all and might offend some, but it was such a book, both excellent and important, that…
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New and Exciting(for mystery fans)
It is always a pleasure to introduce your friends to a new writer or musician, etc with whom you are taken. Well, I have one for you, although many of you may already know him. But he’s new to me. This is Richard Osman, who I have learned is a well-known and much liked TV…
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Republicans and Isolationism–Twists and Turns
Nearly everyone speaking or writing about the current US Presidential campaign has at some point noted foreign policy or at least our relations with other nations as a part of it. It usually does not receive the same attention as border security and immigration(though they’re related), inflation and the overall apparent dissatisfaction of much of…
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Two for the Oscar–Well, Just One, Actually
I have seen only a few(four, I think)of the nominated movies and I am unlikely to get around to all(or any?)of the others. We’ll see. So here is where I stand so far. My choice for the award, based upon what I’ve seen, is undoubtedly “American Fiction.” ”Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Oppenheimer” have both gotten a lot…
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American Attitudes and Capital Punishment
The Vietnam War was the first war which brought to the American people on the home front what really was going on; this meant that even those most reluctant to look at the world honestly were hard pressed not to admit the brutality in it. This was largely because of pictures, mostly TV news coverage, which…
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Where do we go from here?
This is the question left to the country after the NH primary. It settled some things but left others still in doubt. Like Fareed Zakaria on CNN news I have a “take” on some things and here is mine on NH and more broadly, the Presidential contest after NH How is Trump doing with his party?–Pretty well,…
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Long evening but short answers
It was a long evening if you chose to watch last night. I chose not to after the first reports established that Trump was going to win easily, something about 90% of the serious viewers were expecting. I might have watched a little more if the combination of a long, cold, hard day and a couple of…
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