Slavery’s Heritage in Public
A few years ago, when visiting Middleton Place, an old plantation near Charleston, SC that is now a tourist attraction, I noted that there was more emphasis on the role of the slaves… Continue reading
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For the Want of a Nail
So what if Donald Trump doctored a picture with a Sharpie? So what if the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) instructed its scientists not to contradict Trump in his assertion that Alabama… Continue reading
David Brooks: The Thin Man Who Went Over the Mountain
As every reader knows, getting inside the head of someone else, especially a real person, carried danger even for a skilled writer of fiction. Eudora Welty did it well in her 1963 short… Continue reading
A Blur of Pretty: Car-Touring of the Irish Republic
There’s no way to capture in a picture or in words what you see heading down Irish backroads in County Cork and County Kerry on the way from Blarney Castle to the old… Continue reading
Squeal, by Donald Trump
We all know how it starts, the famous first line: “I destroyed the best minds of my generation through madness, stark hysterical naked.” But do we remember the last section? Steve Bannon! I’m… Continue reading
“They are the instigators, not me“
When suspense novelist Stanley Ellin had his potential mass murderer create a manifesto about his plans and actions, he was making things up. The book that resulted, The Dark Fantastic, appeared in 1983.… Continue reading
“You’re Racist.” “No, You’re Racist.”
In the 1980s, suspense writer Stanley Ellin was accused of racism for presenting a first-person narrator of the most virulent (dare I say “Trumpian”?) sort in his novel The Dark Fantastic. Pointing out… Continue reading
Hesitation Blues or ‘Slow Down, Casey Jones’
“Can I let you know? Why must I hesitate?” –Reverend Gary Davis Though I like the resolution passed by the House of Representatives condemning Trump’s tweets, maybe there’s something to be said for… Continue reading
Is Doing a Joebiden Our Only Option?
In May, I ran into someone at the local dog park who I hadn’t seen since right after the 2016 election. A libertarian of the Ayn Rand sort, he’s got a political-science PhD… Continue reading
Moving Away from the Digital in a Smartphone-Altered Universe
Never were online courses adequate substitutes for face-to-face teaching. Like correspondence courses before them, they do fill a need and they can provide motivated students with a viable alternative. But they should never… Continue reading