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Category Archives: American Life

Say it aint so, Stephen

It is now official. Stephen Colbert will be taking over for David Letterman. I realize this is a promotion of sorts, and that, being one who doesn't own a television, I have no standing to complain, but complain I will anyway, because lack of standing or not, as an American I have a right of […]

The right finally gets the joke

Apparently whoever tweets for the Stephen Colbert show screwed up, and sent out a racially offensive tweet, for which act many on the right (e.g., Michelle Malkin) are demanding that his show be cancelled. This can mean only one thing. They must have finally figured out that Stephen is not an actual narrow minded conservative […]

Capitalism at work

Now this is how it’s supposed to work. Plucky young entrepreneur finds a need and fills it.

A Mystery

Here's something that has me completely bolloxed. I learned today that: Medicare is paying “grossly excessive” amounts for vacuum erection systems, informally known as penis pumps, which are generally used by men who fail to cure their erectile dysfunction problem with drugs such as Viagra. via Talking Points Memo This actually has me bolloxed on […]

Thou may shoot thy neighbor (certain conditions apply)

It will be interesting to see if a recent Florida case gets the same attention as the Trayvon Martin case or whether, as I predict, we have all grown used to the idea that it is legal to murder people in hoodies in Florida: On Thursday, an Orlando man shot and killed a 21-year-old who […]

Remarkable people

Saturday morning my attention was drawn to an article in the Boston Globe about a couple who had just donated millions of dollars worth of art to Bowdoin College. I began to read the article only because Bowdoin is my alma mater. I assumed that the couple involved were rich alumni, or, given Bowdoin's history […]

New London makes news

New London, the fair metropolis just to the west of my adopted town of Groton, has proven yet again that, despite appearances, it is not just a jerkwater town dominated by a giant highway entrance that destroyed most of the historic center of town so that people could be spirited to Groton to build instruments […]

Surprising finding…not

Some news from the Department of Why am I not surprised by this. It seems that politicians of both the the right and the “left” believe their constituents are far more out of touch with their own self interest than is actually the case: When we compare what legislators believe their constituents want to their […]

A Tale of our Times

This post is only tangentially related to politics, though the story is emblematic of our culture. I found out about it because my wife and I subscribe to the Boston Globe, for it’s a local Boston story. We were particularly interested because our son currently has a fellowship at the Academy of Arts and Sciences, […]

Unseemliness in Boston

Prior to the Boston Marathon bombings perhaps the most hated person(s) in the history of that fair city (apart from Bucky Dent) were the Redcoats that opened fire during the Boston Massacre. John Adams stepped up and, despite the potential impact on his political career, provided a successful defense. His actions paid personal and historical […]