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who’s to bear the blame?
I don’t suppose that the suspects arrested for a murder in the Bronx know about the epistemological quandaries raised by their game of “hot potato”. They did seem to know that Carvett Gentles should be the one who shoots the target, for the simple reason that he didn’t yet have a criminal record. (One imagines [...]
Also posted in philosophy Tagged bronx, crime, debate, epistemology, gentles, ny times, philosophy, vasquez Leave a comment
a half-baked marxism for our half-baked times
I keep putting this one off. N+1 Magazine ran Mark Greif’s “On Repressive Sentimentalism” in their latest issue. Not sure why I purchased a subscription in the first, but the tome-like issue arrived on my doorstep about a week or so ago and I’ve finally made my way through the piece. As if by coincidence, [...]
Also posted in philosophy Tagged abortion, angst, gay marriage, greif, irritable bowel syndrome, marriage, marxism, N+1, new york Leave a comment
andrew sullivan and the rule of law
Andrew Sullivan, a writer behind the Daily Dish, a popular political blog, was cited for marijuana possession on federal property in July. When his citation made it to court, prosecutors moved to dismiss the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Lang said his office did not want to adversely affect Sullivan’s application for “a certain immigration status” [...]
anglophiliac
Mick Hume has this to say about the Lockerbie release:
In the past two decades, however, US power has seriously waned and Britain’s has all but disappeared. The loss of American influence in the Middle East has been brought to a head by the Iraq debacle and the rise of Iran. The UK is now a [...]
Also posted in philosophy Tagged britain, China, libya, lockerbie, peace, special relationships, war Leave a comment
on healthcare
What is it about public debates? For some reason (and I do not think I am alone in this), the longer our great nation ponders over any given topic, the more I feel I possess the right to impart some kind of judgment on it. I do not think this has anything to do with [...]
Also posted in economics Tagged health care, obama, politics, republicans, roosevelt, tax cuts, world war ii Leave a comment
Malcolm Gladwell strikes again
This piece brings Gladwell’s irksome pop-scientific worldview to bear on an improbable subject: Atticus Finch, the hero of Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird.
“Someone was punching me, but I was reluctant to take my eyes from the people below us, and from the image of Atticus’s lonely walk down the aisle,” Scout relates, in [...]
Posted in politics Tagged Atticus Finch, Malcolm Gladwell, racism, To Kill A Mockingbird Leave a comment
the best part about living in a poor state…
…Is knowing you can’t get much poorer. (source — registration required)
Also posted in economics Leave a comment
wrapping paper in the street
The bonus season’s not even started, but at Goldman and JPM, you can hear the 30-something suits licking their chops all the way out in Albuquerque. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan today posted incredible multi-billion dollar profits, and we outsiders are left with little to do besides scratch our heads in wonder. Even though the [...]
Also posted in economics, new circuits Tagged economy, fed, finance, goldman, politics Leave a comment
bastille day
Many people think that freedom and liberty are the bedrocks of our national ideology. Bastille Day and Independence Day give us time to remember the sacrifices of those before us made to secure the political autonomy we enjoy every day.
I’d like to call this the positive conception of freedom. Freedom, in this understanding, is something [...]
Historical morality and obstacles to carbon regulation