From TAP, Michael Lind reviews Constitutional Patriotism by Jan-Werner Muller; and Robert Borosage and Stanley Greenberg on the Emerging Center-Left Majority. Will the safety net catch the economy’s casualties? Programs to cushion and counter economic downturns have been sharply curtailed since the 1981-82 recession. Barack Obama has promised the most transparent administration ever — is that a good thing? The people's republic of sport: Why Karl Marx would love America's sports — and hate Europe's. From FP, here's Richard Perle’s advice for Barack Obama; and here are five short physics lessons for President-elect Obama from Richard Muller, the author of Physics for Future Presidents. A review of George, Being George: George Plimpton’s Life as Told, Admired, Deplored, and Envied by 200 Friends, Relatives, Lovers, Acquaintances, Rivals — and a Few Unappreciative Observers. Towards clarity: Language is so emotionally wrought that we sometimes forget it is just a tool for effective communication. A review of Can We Have Our Balls Back, Please? How the British Invented Sport and Then Almost Forgot How to Play It by Julian Norridge. What is art for? The poet, philosopher, translator and scholar Lewis Hyde has spent his life trying to figure that out — and became a literary cult figure in the process.
