The waiting and dread are over, and we have begun the war. And even if you believe that it is justified and moral, this is a time for mourning: for the soldiers and civilians who are dying, for the terrified Iraqis experiencing “Precision Shock” in Baghdad. For the people of Basra, where the Red Cross […]
Columns
Posted inNews & Opinion
The XX Files
What does it mean that America is now officially the fattest nation on the planet? For one thing, it means you’re not alone. Do you hate what you see when you step on the scale? Are you careful to never even go near one? Rest assured you’re in the majority — 60 percent of Americans […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
No war on our watch
Right now you may be thinking it’s over. The neo-cons who’ve long wanted the US to smash Iraq, only the first act in their global tragedy and domestic farce, have won the day. The Telepromptee, sounding like the Lyndon Johnson of “Come, let us reason together,” has uttered the fatal words. It doesn’t seem […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Sign of our times
“Let’s roll!” United Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer’s last known words — before he and some of his fellow passengers ostensibly tried to overcome the terrorists who hijacked his plane on 9/11 — have become a battle cry (and patriotic marketing gimmick) in the wake of the attacks. In the immediate aftermath of the […]
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Aftermathematics
Certainly, one of the terrorists’ motivations in planning the attacks of 9/11 was to cripple our economy. In addition to destroying its most prominent symbol, and all the people inside it, they hoped to deal a crushing blow to our finances as a nation. According to no less an authority than New York Governor […]
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Facing the crisis
In the midst of preparations for war, with budget crises looming in Albany, in Monroe County, in City Hall, it’s easy to overlook one of the biggest crises of all: the waste of minds that is taking place in the Rochester school district. We’ve heard about that crisis so often that we’re bored with […]
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The struggle for arts and minds
There’s no time like wartime for looking at the equation between the arts and society. If you read the equation one way, it says art is our social critic and conscience. The other way around, the equation says society must conscientiously support the arts so our humanity, sensitivity, and generosity can stay alive. […]
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The Richards factor
Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson still won’t say whether he’ll be a candidate for County Executive in November, but he’s giving every indication that he will. And while several other Democrats hope to run, the nomination seems to be Johnson’s if he wants it. Meanwhile, the political community is awash in reports that Tom Richards, […]
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Doing the math: the middle-school dilemma
When our son, proud alumnus of the Rochester school district, was a high-school senior in 1988, he and his classmates wore a T-shirt created especially for them. Its wording: “They saved the best till last.” The school was Monroe Junior-Senior High School, of which his (we thought) was the last graduating class. The next […]
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The XX Files
I’m worried about my husband. His eyes are glazed. His movements shaky. After 11 years as a good partner and provider, he’s fallen into one of the many traps that lie in wait for hardworking men and women. Maybe it’s the pressure of his job. Maybe it’s some kind of premature middle-age meltdown. Maybe it’s […]
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Can we talk?
This month, as you may have heard, Louisville, Kentucky, leaped from 67th to 16th on the list of the largest cities in the US. Well, it wasn’t exactly one fell swoop; the jump — which happened because the city and county governments merged — was the result of an election in 2000. Which was […]
