Editorials
530 results
Page 45
The anger trap
My anger and me
Robert Zaller says Americans have good reason to be angry. If I could just find my pitchfork”¦.
Editorials
4 minute read
The Druid case against the Ground Zero mosque
Are you truly, deeply, utterly offended by the Ground Zero mosque?
To me, as an observant Druid, all the arguments against the “Ground Zero mosque” have really hit home. How do you think my people feel whenever we must pass that humongous Catholic cathedral on Ben Franklin Parkway? And why now, when memories of the Spanish Inquisition are so raw?
Editorials
4 minute read
Ethnic humor: Tips for Dr. Laura
It's OK for you but not for me: Three rhetorical tips for Dr. Laura
As someone who has practiced journalism, comedy writing and speechwriting for a living, let me attempt to set Dr. Laura Schlessinger straight about the rules of rhetoric, which also happen to be the rules of common sense.
Editorials
6 minute read
What hath Steven Slater wrought?
A role model for our time: What hath Steven Slater wrought?
Are you as inspired as I am by the dramatic resignation of JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater? Let's consider how other frustrated service workers might follow his example.
Editorials
4 minute read
The "right' to gay marriage, reconsidered
Sex, society and gay marriage: A few points Judge Walker overlooked
When a California judge ruled that gay people have the right to get married, he made the right decision for the wrong reason. Marriage is no mere private contract; it's a lifelong commitment that two spouses make not only to each other but also to their community. That's not a right; it's a heavy responsibility.
Editorials
6 minute read
Sign up for our newsletter
All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.
The trouble with "All About Eve'
Show business villains revisited: Eve Harrington vs. Sammy Glick
All About Eve won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Picture, and ever since it has been justly acclaimed for its incisive portrait of Broadway backstage backstabbing. But something about this classic always bothered me, specially when it's contrasted to Budd Schulberg's Hollywood novel, What Makes Sammy Run?
Editorials
3 minute read
My words, echoed by Woody Allen
Great minds think alike?
Once in a blue moon a critic finds his thoughts and words echoed by the very object of his criticism. This deliriously serendipitous experience recently happened to me. My object, of all people, was Woody Allen.
Editorials
3 minute read
George Steinbrenner in peace and war
The armchair warrior
George Steinbrenner, the imperious and fiercely competitive boss of the New York Yankees who died on July 13, made a fetish of modeling himself after military figures. Unlike his heroes, he seems not to have understood the critical differences between sport and warfare.
Editorials
4 minute read
On not pitying Palestinians: A reply
The real Palestinian problem
For the sake of argument, let's suppose that all Palestinians are violent and self-destructive. Do they therefore forfeit any claim to our sympathy? For the answer, turn to Victor Hugo.
Editorials
4 minute read
Philadelphia writers, seen from the future
‘The Age of Scottoline,' or: The Athens of America, 2010
It was the dawn of a Golden Age: the Age of Fried and Bissinger, of Platt and Scottoline— yes, of Yoo and Santorum and countless other literary luminaries whose destinies converged on the bustling sidewalks of Nutter's Philadelphia.
Editorials
7 minute read