Amid all the recent talk about state budgets, a very common claim is that teachers should be paid as much as possible. It’s hard to argue against this claim - what could possibly be wrong with paying teachers well? And yet the two main arguments advanced in favor of the claim are not entirely consistent ( Read more... )

A request for my literary-minded friends: I'm looking for examples from fiction (ideally novels or short stories, but film is okay) of fundamentally decent characters who are pushed to make certain morally abominable choices because of the terrible society in which they live ( Read more... )

Of the 234 votes cast last night in the House to further integration of the military, only 5 came from Republicans. Who were these brave soldiers for equality and basic human dignity?

Judy Biggert, 13th District of Illinois


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From today's formulaic but fun Times article, Shanghai Is Trying to Untangle the Mangled English of Chinglish:

But even as he eradicates the most egregious examples by government fiat - businesses dare not ignore the commission’s suggested fixes - he has mixed feelings, noting that although some Chinglish phrases sound awkward to Western ears, ( Read more... )

I'd like to consider a question of realpolitik. A question regarding Israel ( Read more... )

Suppose the following voter initiative (referendum) appears on the ballot in your area:

Proposition 10K
Records shall be kept of individual citizen votes on this initiative. Upon its passage, a $10,000 tax shall be levied on each citizen who voted against this initiative, as well as each who failed to vote at all. The resulting funds shall be ( Read more... )

We lost a friend on Saturday. Kautilya, the fat round telescope-eye goldfish who lived in this apartment almost as long as me, passed to the great river beyond. Only after she'd gone did I realize I hadn't taken a photo of her in years! She'd grown much, much larger than her last image, and she had a beautiful flowing tail.


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In the early industrial era, the popular image of a factory was one of drudgery and darkness. Factories took in hundreds of workers, subjected them to mindless labor, and blasted acrid clouds into the countryside. The factory was a menacing presence in iconography, especially in early socialist propaganda.


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Want to lose 10 pounds and have a sexy stomach? Then follow this 1 rule: obey!


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We of the political left and middle are increasingly exhorted to acknowledge a painful truth: the bizarre public ‘debate’ over health care, its shockingly disingenuous claims and scarily angry town hall shouters, all reflects a deep undercurrent of racism in American society. It’s not us, of course; we’re not the racists. It’s them. Those people. ( Read more... )