I still think Massachusetts progressives are in danger of missing the forest for the trees in this governor race. Michael Forbes Wilcox reports,
At one point (when Texaco and Coke were mentioned), people hissed. Deval addressed the hissing immediately. He was not angry. He simply said that hissing was not productive, so let’s […]
I see Steve Lansburg’s point about vine tomatoes - that in explaining the price differential between tomatoes sold on the vine and those picked off the vine, you can’t simply talk about the reasons for a demand differential but also have to talk about why suppliers don’t rush in to fill demand. But the hubris […]
I haven’t talked at length about my dissertation. In the upcoming week, I may reflect on the content a little more, at least as seems appropriate for a general interest blog like this one. But for those who have been wondering exactly what I’ve been working on while not making pronouncements on current events, the […]
My dissertation is complete and filed with Brown, meaning my degree requirements are done. The relief and elation are indescribable. Thanks to those who sent notes of encouragement, in the comments or by email. I have a weekend of commencement activity, family visits and hopefully a little relaxation ahead, but will resume regular blogging […]
The final manuscript of my dissertation is due next Thursday, so no posting for the next week or so.
It’s History Week at Slate, with lots of great stuff, including a debate over what secondary education history curricula should look like. I tried to say something about the divide between academic and popular historiography before, but David Greenberg does it so much better.
One commenter writes in a plea:
HELPPPP!!!!
I’m a West Medfordian looking to organize support for the Green line extension here. This is a disturbing meme with legs, this "West Medford doesn’t want it" crap. The people who have expressed opposition are mostly elderly cranks, outnumbered by the number of residents who DO want the Greenline. But […]
Payton at Chicago-based Breaking the Gridlock takes on the notion that New Urbanism is somehow responsible for gentrification. “New Urbanism is ‘a forum, not a formula,’” he writes. “The ranks of New Urbanists include many voices, who (in my experience) collectively have done tremendously thoughtful (and often effective) work on understanding the root causes and […]
There’s been a big flap over Mexico President Vincente Fox’s comment that Mexican immigants were willing to take jobs “that not even blacks want to do in the United States.” Dimmy Karras mocks it as a stereotype of black Americans as lazy and unemployed. The Colorblind Society writes, “I’m not sure who he is denigrating […]
Speaking of my neglected blogroll, I’d be remiss in not mentioning the excellent blog that Cambridge-based The Real Estate Cafe has set up to track the housing bubble. Their latest post points out a frightening Washington Post piece about the rise in Adjustable Rate Mortgages. ARMs are hardly bad in themselves (after all, the premium […]
The State Democratic convention is a good time to reflect on a noticeable change in the field of Massachusetts bloggers: a number of new blogs have emerged with an explicitly liberal-left bent lately, often with particular local takes marginalized by the Boston-centric news outlets (and, to be honest, this blog).
In Western Mass., we have […]
The tension betwen liberal environmentalism and nominally liberal conservationism is nothing new. The writers at Blue Mass Group have pointed out how shameful the not-in-my-backyard opposition to Cape Cod wind farms is, especially when couched in presumably liberal and universalist terms.
But what better textbook example of perversion of liberal aims could we look for than […]
Don Herzog has more on the battle brewing between Catholic theocrats and the Socialist government in Spain over gay marriage. Not pretty. We’ll have to see how the measure survives widescale civil disobedience.
Mr. Herzog’s argument is odd in its expectation that Spain would have any American tradition of separation of church and state (his […]
I remember when Suede’s Head Music came out, I heard one rabid fan bristle at the notion that they had fallen into a lyrical rut and inability to write a decent hook. “Oh, Brett [Anderson] isn’t really concerned with the songs, he’s trying to define a new sound.”
I thought that was the most ridiculous […]
It seems like liberals are taking a lot of rhetorical beatings lately and are doing a bit of self-flagellation themselves. Some criticisms are undoubtedly deserved, others have the potential to make the left side of the political spectrum stronger. But a couple of items up at Slate should give reflection on our tendency to blame […]