If I’m a parent, or a prospective employer, or the admissions committee of a university, what I really want to know is whether a particular young man or woman is qualified at X level, however we define that, right? I can look at the transcript and see that she had a 3.24 GPA and that tells me something. But it
Read moreDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream, and by now hopefully most of us have heard the famous speech where he explained that magnificent vision. We have dreams, too, every one of us. Not all of our dreams are lofty and worthy, though. Not all of our dreams make the world a better place. Some of our dreams are
Read moreYou may have heard that the State of California is facing a monster deficit. Figures bounce around a bit, but most estimates have the shortfall at or near $28 billion, and the mess has Gov. Jerry Brown pondering Armageddon: enough posturing and arguing – he seems prepared to let the citizenry see how it feels about the reality of shutting
Read moreIn a recent discussion on one of my political lists Sara Robinson (easily one of the brightest folks in the blogosphere) made an important point about what often causes people to migrate from socially conservative perspectives to more progressive points of view. In describing her experiences with a particular activist group that helped people leaving fundamentalist religions (something that can
Read moreA few years ago I invented a word: euphemasia , a hybrid between euphemism and euthanasia. euphemasia – noun: the act of putting the truth out of its misery by cynically substituting an inoffensive expression for one that is considered offensive or damaging to the personal, political or economic interests of the party using the term. Also, the inverse, cynically
Read moreIt’s the end of the world. At least it feels that way. Back in September I noted that 2010 was shaping up as the worst year ever. My marriage fell apart and a lot of terrible stuff happened to people close to me. For instance: A close friend who happens to be one of the brightest guys I know got
Read moreOne of my lists is currently engaged in a fairly dynamic discussion about “what is a progressive?” In thinking about the issue, I realized that it might help to ask the question a slightly different way: what would a progressive society look like? Maybe I can better understand what it means to be progressive in 2010 if I reverse-engineer the
Read moreA few days ago Ted Koppel uncorked on the “partisanship” of today’s broadcasting news in an op-ed at the once-proud, once-respectable, but now utterly reprehensible Washington Post. In doing so, he attracted a great deal of praise from all kinds of people, including at least one or two of my highly respected colleagues. As I argued in a perhaps ill-tempered
Read moreIt was Sun Tzu, I believe, who first suggested that in order to win the war, you sometimes have to lose the battle. This precept has been on my mind quite a bit since the results of the recent election began rolling in. For instance… Earlier today one of my political lists was discussing the aftermath of the elections and
Read moreA Gallup poll released in August indicated that the advertising and PR industries aren’t viewed very favorably by the American public. One-third of respondents voiced a positive view of the advertising/pr industry (6 percent “very,” 27 percent “somewhat”). Twenty-seven percent were “neutral.” Twenty-five percent expressed a “somewhat negative view,” while 11 percent were “very negative.” (The rest didn’t venture an
Read moreToday is a day for politics and all that signifies. I suppose, as dark as the times have been of late, we might be forgiven if we approach the polls with a bit of cynicism. Certainly many of our very greatest poets have shared our misgivings over the political forces that shape our lives and dictate our opportunities, including my
Read moreI’d like to ask you to consider the following hypothetical people. Bob lives and works in Denver. He earns $50,000 per year in a position that’s focused on improving his city. He has a wife and two children, pays his taxes, is a member of various civic organizations, and is regarded by those who know him as a productive member
Read moreThe story: Tape analysis: Pistol shots preceded 1970 Kent St. shooting deaths of 4 students. Let me be the first to wade in with a caution here. I need to know a good bit more about the person doing the analysis and I would be interested in knowing if he’s being compensated. If so, by whom? There’s allegedly a 70-second
Read moreIn September 11, 2001, al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger jets. They flew three of them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The fourth was retaken by the passengers and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. These things we know. Since then, much has transpired. For example: The US invaded Afghanistan, the nation that had harbored the terrorists
Read more
lullaby pit 