archive

Miscellaneous

A review of Hold Everything Dear: Dispatches on Survival and Resistance by John Berger. Form Mother Jones, should you be able to drive anywhere you damn well please? An alliance of local officials and timber, mining, and off-road-vehicle lobbyists—along with their friends in the White House—have dug up a Civil-War-era statute to stake road claims all over the West; and a sampling of road claims around the West. A review of The Cry Was Unity: Communists and African Americans, 1917-36 by Mark Solomon. Meet generation Y, or should that be why bother? Once politicians used to go out of their way to woo idealistic young voters. But, increasingly, generation Y is rejecting politics, and even the very idea of the privilege of lining up at the ballot box.  Forget the foundations: A review of Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence. 

A review of Building Powerful Community Organizations: A Personal Guide to Creating Groups That Can Solve Problems and Change the World by Michael Brown. The Pot, the Kettle, and the Heritage Foundation: A recent event at the right-wing think tank — on the pernicious influence of liberal 501(c)(3)s — came straight out of the department of glass houses and the throwing of stones.  From Nerve, here's a special 10 year anniversary retrospective.  Who's behind the integration decision? It's the Pacific Legal Foundation, champion of right-wing causes for 35 years. The Nonconformist: There’s still one way to shock the bourgeoisie. From BloggingHeads, Joshua Cohen and Brink Lindsey debate the secularization of America, impeachment, Giuliani, and more. 

A review of The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard. The Marriage that Made a Movement: K-Lo remembers a Right wedding anniversary. Sports and politics: An excerpt from "What's My Name, Fool?" Sports and Resistance in the United States. "He remembered. I forgot. Makes me think": Michael Kinsley on his lunch with Reagan.  From Psychology Today, a review of All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity by Robert Fuller; and in Australia, the proudest man in the patch gets mowed down. Why success and power are frowned upon. From Strange Maps, a look at some of the spin-offs from "US States Renamed For Countries With Similar GDPs".  Is Real ID a Real Problem? The Feds wimp out and New Hampshire thumbs its nose at national ID cards. 

An interview with Jeremy Lott, author of In Defense of Hypocrisy. Inside the Emerald City and Behind the Curtain: An interview with Richard Metzger, founder of disinfo.com. A review of The Mafia at War: Allied Collusion with the Mob by Tim Newark. A community of fans: Believe it or not, celebrity gossip can be good for you. When we let conspiracy theory masquerade as news, we fall prey to much more than deception. A review of Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America by Eric Jay Dolin. The burgeoning popularity of bottled water gives rise to a new type of restaurant sommelier; and if wine and water get their own sommeliers, why not maple syrup? Giving Till It Hurts: They are forgoing vacation homes, early retirement and college saving plans. Sally Beatty on the increasing number of stretch givers who donate out of proportion to their wealth.