Jon Stewart’s away in Egypt filming (nice work, John Oliver). I just saw Jon talking with Bassem Youssef, host and resident satirist at Al-Bernameg. (Skip ahead to 10:11.) Skip ahead to 10:11. Jon and Bassem start talking about the role of humor in political commentary and the differences between insults, injury, tyranny, and democracy: “If your […]
Living Your Life and Using Your Life
This week, one of the NYT’s advice columnists responded to a question about inviting unsupportive relatives to a wedding. I’ve thought about this question before, and not just in the context of LGBT couples: For me, the point of being present at a wedding is to bear witness to the relationship at the heart of […]
Obit: Margaret Thatcher
Aren’t all colossal leaders ambivalent figures, feted by some, hated by others, & rarely understood in life or death? Former British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher died today at the age of 87. I grew up in Thatcher’s England. My family suffered under her economic policies and has never recovered. I have no love for […]
Confusing Clear English
A Fresh View of George Orwell (Salon) The essential promise of Politics and the English Language was that “if you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy.” Does this ring true in 2013? From the US State Department’s carefully-worded missives to the tightly-constructed soundbites of Whitehall Britain’s counterpart to the White House, our […]
