Films for Our Times: “On the Beach” (1959)Third in series from Carla’s Vault, prompted by a fresh round of nuclear theats.Nov 21, 20244Nov 21, 20244
“The Custom of the Country” by Edith WhartonGetting and spending is “the custom of the country” under review in this 1913 novel by perhaps the acutest observer ever of American…Nov 2, 20243Nov 2, 20243
Books for Our Times: “Why Nations Fail”by Daron Acemoglu and James A. RobinsonOct 19, 20241Oct 19, 20241
Plays for Our Times: “An Enemy of the People”or Idealism Descended to EgoismSep 30, 20242Sep 30, 20242
The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent“Easy is the descent to the lower depths; but to retrace your steps and to escape to the upper air — this is the task, this is the toil.”…Aug 14, 20248Aug 14, 20248
With Biden Stepping Aside, There’s Hope Now that Democrats Can Save DemocracyWhen I first heard President Biden was stepping aside as the Democratic nominee, my first thought was: “There’s hope — hope for democracy.”Jul 23, 20244Jul 23, 20244
Films for Our Times: “12 Angry Men”Fourth in an ongoing series, Films for Our TimesJul 11, 20244Jul 11, 20244
A Fourth of July Vow: In November, We’ll All Vote for DemocracyOn the Fourth of July, we Americans love to celebrate, noisily with firecrackers, our beloved American Democracy — a form of government…Jul 7, 20243Jul 7, 20243
To Save Our Democracy, Biden Must Step Aside as the Dems’ NomineeIn his cognitive impairment — which impairment became immediately apparent as last night’s Biden-Trump debate got underway — Joe Biden has…Jun 28, 202411Jun 28, 202411
Walt Whitman’s “Democratic Vistas”: Imagining Democracy’s SoulmoliticsWalt Whitman (1819–1892) — American bard of the 19th century who famously claimed “I contain multitudes” — had a vision of…Jun 20, 20244Jun 20, 20244