Essays
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Page 65
2012: An election post-mortem
Stop the presses! Tweedledum defeats Tweedledee!
After a seemingly endless campaign, a 50-50 election has ratified the economic polarization of our 99-1 society, in which an elite as small as any Old Regime aristocracy controls nearly half the nation's wealth. Until Americans deal with this problem, our politics will remain on a symbolic level only.
Essays
5 minute read
The Brits in America: A Veterans' Day thought
Remembrance of wars past, and a message from my ancestor
My ancestor fought in America's War of Independence and went out of his way to stress the notion of defensive war to George Washington. In that spirit, I have a Veterans Day message for all presidents who send U.S. armies overseas.
Essays
4 minute read
Waiting for Sandy in Cape May
Denial and destiny by the sea
To every life comes a moment of truth. Mine arrived Monday as Hurricane Sandy approached Cape May, where my family had summered for more than a century. Should I flee or should I stay?
Essays
3 minute read
What might have been: Coolidge in Cuba
Back to the future in Cuba: If Calvin Coolidge could do it…
Nixon went to China; and Calvin Coolidge, of all people, went to Cuba in 1928 to talk about peace and goodwill. It's enough to make one hope that the logjam of America's Cuban policy might be broken sooner or later.
Essays
5 minute read
Romney and the missing Mormon issue
The silence of the liberals (evangelicals too): Can we talk about Romney's religion?
The elephant in the room— Mitt Romney's Mormonism— is being ignored in the current Presidential campaign by political liberals and religious conservatives alike, for very different reasons. Why is it acceptable to ask Catholic candidates about their religious values but not a Mormon?
Essays
7 minute read
Farewell, old Newsweek
When newsmags ruled the world: The Newsweek I remember
I don't know whether print is dead. I just know the famous magazine that informed my world as a kid, and then gave me a wondrous break into big-time journalism, is now but a digital shadow.
Essays
4 minute read
Terry Williams, Part III: A Life in the balance
The Terry Williams case, Part III: The 'rational' machinery of death
Terry Williams ducked his date with death on October 3, but his life continues to hang in the balance as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court considers whether to uphold or reject his death sentence for the murder of one of the men who raped him as a teenager. Will justice finally be done in this case? And what would real justice be?
Essays
7 minute read
My life as a pornographer: A memoir
‘Think of it as a public service,' or: My life as a pornographer
It was the heyday of Lolita and Naked Lunch. Adult bookstores abounded on every downtown block. I was an aspiring writer. When my pornographer buddy enlisted my help, how could I refuse?
An antidote for mass murder
To prevent mass murders, ask better questions
Can potential mass murderers be spotted in advance? Maybe. But the more important question is: Why are so many American kids growing up angry, antisocial and withdrawn? And we already possess the tools to cope with that problem.
Essays
4 minute read
Writers and copyright on the Internet
Writers are people, too, my friend: The case against Internet pirates
“Information wants to be free,” say Internet pirates. Their refusal to compensate writers (like me) for their work reflects a low opinion of writers and of information, too.
Essays
5 minute read