Re-opening the American mind
Twenty-five years on, a re-read of Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind reveals just how wrong liberals were to hate it, and how wrong conservatives were to claim it as their ideological bible. Read my review, in the spiked review of books, here.
This week’s articles of note
“Hope: the sequel,” New York Magazine, by John Heilemann “The 1 percent’s problem,” Vanity Fair, by Joseph E. Stiglitz “Mary Meeker’s latest stunning presentation about the state of the web,” Business Insider, by Nicholas Carlson “Is America philosophical?” The Chronicle of Higher Education, by Carlin Romano “The Amazon effect,” The Nation, by Steve Wasserman
Here we go again: Nanny Bloomberg bans large sodas
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Bans on smoking in restaurants. Then outdoors, in parks. Bans on artificial trans fat in restaurant food. A demand to post health inspection grades in big letters on restaurant windows. Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City and billionaire, has made a name for himself […]
This week’s articles of note
“The service patch,” New York Times, by David Brooks “Our age of anxiety,” Weekly Standard, by Yuval Levin “The Facebook illusion,” New York Times, by Ross Douthat “Lunch with the FT: Paul Krugman,” Financial Times. Martin Wolf interviews Krugman “How Roland Barthes gave us the TV recap,” New York Times Magazine, by Sam Anderson “Woody […]
The liberal case against gay marriage
Following on from my spiked article on the gay marriage debate, I recommend an essay I found by Susan M. Shell, “The liberal case against gay marriage”. Published in The Public Interest in the summer of 2004, it remains highly relevant. Shell makes the important point that “the most stubborn and intransigent opponents in the […]
This week’s articles of note
“Joe Sixpack get lost!” The Daily Caller, by Mickey Kaus ‘The class divide deepens,” National Journal, by Ronald Brownstein “Liberal intolerance and Naomi Riley’s firing,” Real Clear Politics, by Cathy Young “OWS RIP,” The American Interest, by Walter Russell Mead “Why I think Obama is losing,” The Atlantic, by Clive Crook “The gay divorcees: there […]
Why I’m coming out…against gay marriage
A New York progressive braves the opprobrium of his peers by questioning same-sex marriage. Read my spiked article in full here.
Obama vs Romney: who do you hate least?
Both Obama and Romney are now tossed between public enthusiasm and public disdain, showing just how volatile this campaign has become. Read my spiked article in full here.
This week’s articles of note
“America’s crisis of character,” Wall Street Journal, by Peggy Noonan “A nation of spoiled brats,” Foreign Policy. David Rothkopf interviews Edward Luce, author of Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent “Joel Kotkin: The great California exodus,” Wall Street Journal. Allysia Finley interviews Kotkin “Obama’s race to save the Rust Belt,” Salon, […]
Obama is down in the polls, and only has himself to blame
It’s easy to be confused about this year’s presidential election. Throughout the latter part of 2011, President Obama was faring badly in opinion polls. Unemployment remained stubbornly high and a majority did not approve of his job performance. The talk was that almost any Republican could beat Obama. But then, as we headed into a new year, Obama’s fortunes appeared to change. Unemployment […]