MILT'S
FILE
November
28, 2003:
GAY MARRIAGE IS NOT (OR IS IT?) EQUIVALENT TO BLACK
CIVIL RIGHTS: The question has arisen within the African-American
world and it is clear, in this story from Fox News, that not all
agree with the Sharpton-Braun response.
http://www.foxnews.com
GENEVA,
OSLO AND ISRAELI SURRENDER: That's what the "accord" to be signed
in Geneva on Monday is all about--according to Krauthammer in
today's Washington Post. Fortunately, it will be "private
parties" rather than governments that will be doing the signing.
Krauthammer asks--quite appropriately we think--why Jimmy Carter
will be there and why Colin Powell has conveyed his endorsement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com
WHAT
TO DO ABOUT NORTH KOREA: Henry Rowen of the Hoover Institution
looks at the last Stalinist nation through realpolitik lenses.
http://www.policyreview.org
A
PSYCHOMETRIC FOR SUBLIMINAL ANTI-AMERICANISM: This diagnostic
questionnaire should be administered to any Brit friends who may
be lurking around. It is supplied by this week's Spectator.
http://www.spectator.co.uk
HOW
THE MCGOVERN COMMISSION CHANGED AMERICA: Delegate selection was
the key--and the constituencies of the two major parties were
thereby changed. This fascinating--and improperly neglected--
chapter in American political history is insightfully examined
in this essay from the Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com
IN
WHAT WAYS WERE EINSTEIN AND PONCARE THE SAME...and in what crucial
way did they differ? In response to a recent book about these
two great figures in 20th century thought, Freeman Dyson illuminates
the great ideational leap forward. This fine essay is from the
current number of the New York Review of Books.
http://www.nybooks.com
WHERE
IS GOOGLE GOING...and what happens when it gets there? The question
will become all the more urgent as the IPO looms on next spring's
horizon. This valuable article is from the current issue of Fortune
magazine.
http://www.fortune.com
AND
NEVER, NEVER DO THE HOOKED FINGER GESTURE TO SIGNIFY THAT YOU
ARE QUOTING!! This guy giving advice to academic lecturers (or
any others who presume to address an audience) is right on the
mark. Read this piece from the Chronicle of Higher Education
and memorize it or never speak publicly again!
http://chronicle.com
IN
WHAT WAY DO MEN AND WOMEN DIFFER? Dave Barry, in this recent column,
reports yet another way. But the root of all wisdom on this eternal
issue is given in the untranslatable French riddle: Quelle
est la differance entre l'homme et la femme? La differance entre!
http://www.miami.com
ALL
BRASS--ALMOST. A fascinating musical find, this brass quintet
by a French composer dates back to 1839 but was turned up in the
British Library only eight years ago. The performance is by an
ensemble at the Royal Academy of Music.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com
November
26, 2003:
WHAT TO MAKE OF SOROS? In a recent speech he blamed
anti semitism on some Jews; namely, those in Israel or elsewhere
who pursue a strong policy of aggressive confrontation with Israel's
enemies. This mode of blaming the hated for being hated is as
illogical as it is archaic. Here is one angry response from today's
Jerusalem Post. But, curiously, the columnist indulges
in a bit of standard Israeli condescension toward "old Jews" (i.e.
making their way in the larger world) who are thereby not "new
Jews." To be the latter one must, apparently, live in Israel and/or
support the Sharon government.
http://www.jpost.com
BY
THE WATERS OF THE OLENTANGY WE WEPT: That's the river that runs
close to the campus of Ohio State University where the Student
Conference on Palestine Solidarity had its annual anti-love in.
You should know about such things and, once again, Front Page
magazine provides an on-the-scene report.
http://www.frontpagemag.com
THE
UNINTELLIGENT RELIANCE UPON INTELLIGENCE: Seymour Hersh in a recent
New Yorker article, faulted the administration for not
relying as fully as it should upon "intelligence professionals."
Stephen Gale of the Foreign Policy Research Institute argues here
that the estimates that come from intelligence agencies are as
often wrong as they are right. And, either way, where the buck
stops is the place from which the decisions must come. And that's
the president's desk!
http://www.fpri.org
THE
LIFE AND TIMES OF BOUDIN THE BOMBER, WEATHERPERSON: At about the
time she was sprung from prison where she was serving a sentence
for murder (second degree) a biographical study of Kathy Boudin
and her family appeared. Dorothy Rabinowitz's reflection on that
time and those people (Boudin's partner in bombing the U.S. Capitol
was Bernardine Dohrn who is now a member of the law faculty at
Northwestern University) appeared today in the Wall Street
Journal.
http://opinionjournal.com
LIFE
WITH FATHER: Our old friend and frequent program guest, Joe Epstein,
has just had published this affecting memoiristic note about his
late father. It is done with Epstein's usual grace but without
the light self-mockery that colors some of his confessional writing.
Commentary magazine is the source.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com
IS
THIS TRIP (TO MARS) NECCESSARY? The needed technology is already
a reality, but NASA's will is weak. Still, in the opinion of the
author of this article from Discover magazine, we will
make the trip sooner or later. And sooner would be far better.
http://www.discover.com
MARS
IN THE OTHER SENSE: War, that is--and, more precisely, war movies.
According to Martha Bayles' article from the Wilson Quarterly,
they don't make them like they used to. At any rate, she does
provide some fine critical commentary on films from Sergeant
York to Black Hawk Down.
http://wwics.si.edu
THE
RELIGIOUS LIFE OF GENERAL CLARK: Here, the second most Jewish
Democratic presidential candidate, is lightly grilled on his "faith
history." It is not exactly deep and probing--but it is,
inevitably, an interesting interview as published at Beliefnet.
http://www.beliefnet.com
VICE
PRESIDENTS DO MATTER! Sometimes they make all the difference in
presidential elections--or so the historical record would seem
to indicate according to this analysis published by the History
News Network.
http://hnn.us
WHAT
HAPPENS TO THE SUDDENLY RICH? A former friend who made a "killing"
in finance (and quickly went off to live on the Cote D'Azur) was
recently back in town and seemed quite altered. This essay by
Dr. Johnson may explain what happened and why.
http://www.victorianweb.org
THE
LAST OF THE BRANDENBURGS: This spirited performance of the last
of Bach's Brandenburg concertos (the one without violins!) features
a glorious viola "duet."
http://classicalplus.gmn.com
November
25, 2003:
HOW LONG, OH LORD, HOW LONG? These Democratic Party
presidential debates have become unendurable. If there were nine
Republican candidates those debates would probably be just as
bad. Polling, grievance-group pandering and TV have, in combination,
reduced political campaigning to an imbecile form of ideational
prostitution. And we think that Byron York of the National
Review agrees.
http://www.nationalreview.com/
NOT
SEEING COMMUNISM FOR WHAT IT WAS--AND IS. Soviet apologetics are
no longer practiced in Moscow but that dying art persists in the
American academic world. How and why? These questions are strongly
addresed by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr in this interview
from today's edition of Front Page magazine. Klehr will
be appearing on our program on December 12.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
ONE
OF THE BOOKS ABOUT THE USSR THAT AMERICAN ACADEMICS SHOULD HAVE
READ...but didn't. Here, with his usual rush of enthusiasm and
well-focussed disdain, Christopher Hitchens examines the life
and work of the Soviet emigre, Victor Serge. Hitch is quite up
to par in this article just published in The Atlantic.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
THE
FUTURE OF MARRIAGE...after the Massachussetts decision and as
seen by Maggie Gallagher, the president of the Institute for Marriage
and Public Policy. The article comes from the current issue of
the Weekly Standard.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
ONE
OF THE BEST THINGS AT THE BBC. That would be Alistair Cooke who
at 95(!!!) still writes and broadcasts with an easy grace about
the things that interest him. In this installment from a few weeks
ago he recounts one of the great murder stories...the shooting
of architect Stanford White by Mr. Harry Thaw.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/
THE
LOSS OF CULTURAL MEMORY? Or perhaps the problem is that the history
of our "culture" is simply not imparted in contemporary
American schools. Either way, the consequences are more than worrisome.
In this Wall Street Journal op-ed, the Chairman of the
National Endowment for the Humanities paints the problem more
effectively than he supplies a solution.
http://opinionjournal.com/
WIRED
MAGAZINE EXAMINES THE WIRING IN THE HEADS OF AUTISTIC SAVANTS.
Current investigations suggest that the brilliant but "concretistic"
performances of such people is more a matter of the software than
the hard-wiring. Some exciting prospects are opening up in this
area of neuroscience.
http://www.wired.com/
ANTIANGIOGENESIS
IS COMING...and it may be a true "cure" for cancer.
That is the opinion of the well-known science reporter, Michael
Fumento who shared the news with us recently at Extension 720.
In this article from American Outlook magazine he reviews
the research that he sees as most promising.
http://www.americanoutlook.org/
NOUS
AVONS BEAUCOUP DU POIS. Francophones know that "avoir du
pois" is a gentle euphemism for being fat. We are, as by
now everyone has heard, the fattest nation in the world!! But
why? This extended essay from the Boston Globe does shed
some new light on the whole dismal matter.
http://www.boston.com/
TWENTY
REASONS TO TURN OFF THE TV...or perhaps move to Tierra Del Fuego.
There seems no other way to protect the kids from the unbearable
and omnipresent coverage of Scott Peterson, Kobe Bryant, Al Sharpton,
Michael Jackson and Britney Spears. So opines Mona Charen in this
cry of disgust from Townhall.
http://www.townhall.com/
MENDELSSOHN'S
PIANO TRIO #2. This fine chamber work is among the few major non-orchestral
compositions that he completed before his far-too-early death.
It is performed here by members of the Orchestra of the Teatro
Communale of Bologna.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November 24, 2003:
THE NEXT BIG THREAT: IRANIAN NUKES! But,
according to this story from yesterday's Scotsman, the
Israelis are likely to preempt as they did years ago in Iraq.
http://www.news.scotsman.com/
AL
QAEDA HATES MOST MUSLIMS TOO. So says Paul Marshall of the Center
for Religious Freedom. Well, maybe--but what about the Saudi princes
now known to have contributed heavily to Osama and his crew?
http://www.benadorassociates.com/
WHY THE NEW ANTISEMITISM? The question is being widely asked and
variably answered. Here is a plausible analysis by one of the
editors of Foreign Policy magazine.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/
END
OF THE SPAM PLAGUE? Probably not, but it is good to know that
somebody cares. One does wonder about how many times a day congressmen
get advice about enlarging their members?
http://news.yahoo.com/
IS
BLOGGING BOGGING DOWN? A knowledgable article from PC
Magazine suggests that a great corporate takeover is
already rolling along--and that lots of bloggers are pooping out.
We hope not but...?
http://www.pcmag.com/
THE
GOVERNMENT IS SPONSORING MEDICAL FRAUD! That is the argument in
this strong essay from the Skeptical Inquirer which is
the journal of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation
of Claims of the Paranormal. (Declaration of interest: the proprietor
of this site is a member of their advisory board.)
http://www.csicop.org/
SO
WHAT ABOUT JESUS, THE OTHER MARY, DA VINCI...and Dan Brown and
cynical publishers? Charles McGrath, editor of the New York
Times Book Review (and a former guest on our program) examines
the fuss about the novel with a somewhat skeptical and amused
eye.
http://www.nytimes.com/
ANOTHER
NOVELIST HEARD FROM! As far as we know no other American president
has had a novel published. But in Britain a popular novelist became
Prime Minister back in the 19th century. Whodat? Anyway, here
is the assesment of Jimmy Carter's latest, as it appeared in the
Books section of the New York Times yesterday.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
MAN BEHIND MASTER AND COMMANDER. Patrick O'Brian was
not quite the person he represented himself to be. But then, neither
was C.S Forester, the other great novelist of Admiralty adventures.
The article is from today's Canadian National Post.
http://www.nationalpost.com/
A
CORNUCOPIA OF MUSIC FROM THE FIFTIES. There's some early, still
tuneful, rock 'n' roll in this generous collection. And lots of
other stuff whose appeal is far more than nostalgic. Must listen
performers: Al Hibbler, Peggy Lee, Chuck Berry, The Mills Brothers,
Fats Domino and Little Richard.
http://www.beau-dacious.addr.com/
November 21, 2003:
SOMEONE IS KILLING AMERICANS IN IRAQ.
WHO? The nature of the insurgency has remained unclear. Are the
attackers remnants of the Baath killer squads? Or of the Iraqi
Republican Guard? Or Al Qaeda members and affiliates? A "former
Saddam aide" provides some of the answers (if he is to be
believed) to Time magazine. The article, based on his
revelations and on American intelligence data, is worth close
and ruminative consideration.
http://www.time.com/
OUR
MAN IN IRAQ. General Abizaid is not the usual commander of American
forces. To begin with, he is of Arab familial origin. More significantly
he is truly a "military intellectual." This informative
profile is from the new issue of The Atlantic.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
THE
PRESIDENT SPEAKS AT WHITEHALL PALACE. It may be a matter of taste--and
political dispositon--but lots of observers have noted that the
President gave a rather stirring and persuasive speech the other
day in London. Here's the full text.
http://www.foxnews.com/
THE
HAUNTING INTIMATION OF PRESIDENTIAL VULNERABILITY. According to
this gripping column by George Will, JFK (assasinated 40 years
ago, tomorrow) lived with the likelihood of an early death.
http://www.miami.com/
THE
MASSACHUSSETTS DECISION ON "SAME SEX MARRIAGE." Jeff
Jacoby of the Boston Globe says that the top court in
his state has sent the nation over a slippery slope. Here is his
challenging column examining the likely consequences.
http://www.boston.com/
THIS
IS THE WAY THE WORLD ALMOST ENDED...MORE THAN ONCE. They are called
"catastrophic asteroid impacts." The most recent one--a
mere 65 million years ago--probably did kill off the dinosaurs
and a good deal else. But that was as nothing compared to the
one back 250 million years ago. The details are here in a fascinating
story from yesterday's National Georaphic News site.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/
SAY
THAT AGAIN. AT&T is patenting a system that will invalidate
anti-spam systems? Doesn't that mean that they want to keep the
Spam Plague going? For further edification do read this report
from CNET News.
http://news.com.com/
BRITAIN'S
BEST-LOVED NOVEL. An ambitious survey is coming to its conclusion.
Brits, when they name their single favorite novels, do work in
Dickens, Austen, Waugh and Tolkien. But not Graham Greene, Arthur
Conan Doyle or P.G. Wodehouse! Read about it here in the London
Times.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
MORE
(AND LESS) THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FLU. This primer
is provided by Dr. David Barry who recently shared his wisdom
with us on a program about another subject: the Civil War.
http://www.miami.com/
AND
ON THE LEFT, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH! So might a campus tour
guide direct the attention of a group of visiting high school
students--if the guide knew about these things. Erin O'Connor
(a former guest on our program) does know a great deal about these
things, as this item from her Critical Mass blog testifies.
http://www.erinoconnor.org/
THE
PERFECT OVERTURE. So says Notlim Grebnesor, a not particularly
distinguished--but quite enthusiastic--music critic in reference
to Mozart's frontespiece for The Marriage of Figaro.
Here it is performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic
conducted by Trevor Pinnock.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November 20, 2003:
SO MUCH FOR YOU, FRANCIS FUKAYAMA!! No,
history will not end--at least not in our time. And, Victor Hanson
reminds us in this fine article, it proceeds through competition,
conflict and-- at the inevitable worst--war.
http://www.city-journal.org/
RUSSIAN
MILITARY THOUGHT ABOUT "FUTURE WAR." As in the U.S.
and the NATO countries, Russia has a strong "military intellectual"
establishment. In this article translated from one of their journals
the nature of war-to-come is speculatively examined...with special
attention to the challenge of terrorism.
http://www.findarticles.com/
FACING
THE "BROWN" ENRAGED LEFT AT BARNARD. That challenge
fell to Phyllis Chesler earlier this month. We discussed her book
on renascent antisemitism with her a while ago on our program.
Here she encounters it in a common campus manifestation. The article
is from Front Page magazine.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
THE
CRAFT OF THE POPULAR (AND RESPONSIBLE) HISTORIAN. The prime figure
in that category is David McCullough--and here we have him in
an excellent conversation with Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
http://www.neh.fed.us/
SO
WHAT ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING? Apart from all the other things worth
worrying about, isn't this the greatest long-term danger that
confronts us? Wellll...it is rather more complicated than that
and this article from the Wilson Quarterly is as good
a primer for lay-persons as you are likely to encounter.
http://wwics.si.edu/
IN
CHESS, MAN CAN STILL BEAT MACHINE...but the gap is narrowing.
Garry Kasparov represents all of us in his struggle against X3D
Fritz. But he is doing his best while the programmers can go forward
to construct a still better chess-playing program...perhaps by
simulating Kasparov at his very best, as in his victories over
X3D Fritz? The story is from BBC News.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
AIMEZ
VOUS SARTRE? We don't especially...but his centenary is approaching
so the scholars are tuning in again. What they may discover is
that Sartre was right about life: It IS absurd...or at least his
was when he opted for communism as it was deservedly dying. Here
is a somewhat friendlier--and properly informative--piece about
him from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
http://chronicle.com/
MARTIN
AMIS ON SAUL BELLOW. The 50th anniversary of the publication of
The Adventures of Augie March has come. And with it a
renewed flurry of essays on Bellow. This one by one of Britain's
major (and uncontainable) literary figures has just appeared in
The Atlantic. Emminently readable but possible rather
hyperventilated in the goyish appreciation of the "Jewish
Family."
http://www.theatlantic.com/
HOW
OLD IS WINE? Not that bottle of Chateau Brobdignac-Goutez in your
basement but the mother of all wines. This report from the current
issue of Time introduces the researcher (and his methods)
who may be getting close to the answer.
http://www.time.com/
AND
THIS FELLOW TEACHES ENGLISH???!!!&%$#&# This is as good
(that is as dismaying) an instance of post-mod, willful obscurity
and disrespect for the language as we have read this year. It
is from the University of Chicago's "distinguished"
literary journal, Critical Inquiry.
http://www.uchicago.edu/
BACH'S
CONTEMPORARY AND ALMOST AS GOOD...and even more prolific. We speak
of Georg Phillipe Telemann. Here is a moving chamber work in a
minor key, demonstrating how "deep" rather than merely
"bouncy" baroque can be.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November 19, 2003:
BUSH IN BRITAIN. President Bush's state
visit to the United Kingdom continues today. What better source
for accurate analysis of his visit and the accompanying protests
than the British magazine The Economist? According to
this article, the protestors are hurting Prime Minister Tony Blair
more than their intended target.
http://www.economist.com/
THE
REPORTS OF HIS UNPOPULARITY HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED. According
to this story in the Guardian (and the opinion survey
they are drawing upon) Bush and his policies are far more fully
endorsed in the U.K. than we have been told by the media mavens.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/
LOOKING AT THE "PRAGUE CONNECTION"
AGAIN. Some say the connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam has
never been adequately established. And some say it has. Here is
an examination of the so-called "Prague Connection"
between the former Iraqi regime and Bin Laden from Slate.
http://slate.msn.com/
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Campaign
finance and the attempted reforms thereof certainly do not loom
as large on the horizon as the situation in Iraq. But this interesting
op-ed from Washington Post columnist David Broder discusses
why Bush, Kerry and Dean have all opted out of public funding
for their primary campaigns and what exactly that means.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
WHILE
WE'RE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. Yesterday's decision by the Massachusetts
Supreme Court that declared laws against gay marriage unconstitutional
throws a spanner in the works of many presidential current campaigns.
And--at least according to this news analysis from the New
York Times--might complicate things even more for the Democrats.
http://www.nytimes.com/
SHE
MAY HAVE WON JULIA THE OSCAR...but are her claims of environmental
health hazards real? This excellent expose of Erin Brockovich-Ellis
and her latest crusade is from the upcoming issue of The New
Republic.
http://www.tnr.com/
THE
RETURN OF THE (MERCHANDISING) KING. The impending release of the
third movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy prompted
the Boston Globe's fascinating exploration of the commercialization
of all things Tolkien.
http://www.boston.com/
DON'T
KILL US! WE STILL LOVE THE CUBS! Perhaps this article is sacrilege
coming from the radio home of the Chicago Cubs; nevertheless,
we found this New Yorker essay on the Florida Marlins
and their road to World Series victory compelling. The Cubbies
always have next year...
http://www.newyorker.com/
BELOVED BY FUDDS AND KILGORES ALIKE. Wagner's "Ride of the
Valkyries" from Die Walkure has been immortalized
by Coppola and satirized by Elmer and Bugs. Despite its inevitable
association with wabbit killing, it remains a classic.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November 18, 2003:
THE REVELATIONS OF KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED
AND RAMZI BINALSHIB. These two leading figures in Al Qaeda were
captured earlier this year. What has been learned from them thru
extensive interogation about the 9/11 plot is reviewed in this
stunning article from Der Spiegel.
http://www.spiegel.de/
THE
SADDAM-OSAMA AXIS. A Defense Department working group has compiled
an extensive list of Iraqi contacts with--and services to--Al
Qaeda. A useful summary of the findings is provided in this article
by Frank Gaffney, just published in Front Page magazine.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
THE
MAN FROM PARK AVENUE AND VERMONT. A book presenting "the
real" Howard Dean has just been published by a leftish book
firm in Vermont. Here's a friendly review of the friendly book
as published last Sunday in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
http://www.philly.com/
A
MAGAZINE WITH NO ARTICLES AND LOTS OF SMILES. Adding David Brooks
to the New York Times group of columnists was a good
idea. He is, to be sure, conservative...sort of. But, more important,
he has his eye on the subtexts of popular culture. This article,
connecting a new "women's magazine" to Alexis de Tocqueville
will either push you toward getting a copy of Lucky or re-reading
Democracy in America or, possibly, neither.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
HORRIFYING NUKES IN OUR POSSIBLE FUTURE. Gabriel Schoenfeld establishes
himself, with this Commentary article, as a modern master
of worst-case analysis. But, unhappily, he makes a persuasive
case for this worst-case.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/
THE
PUBLIC INTRUSION OF THE CELL PHONE. Paul Goldberger, the emminent
architecture critic, has had a valuable insight. At last one understands
just why people strolling along the downtown streets and yapping
away into the little device are so...aahh, annoying. The article
appeared the other day in Metropolis magazine.
http://www.metropolismag.com/
PIAF
AND COCTEAU. Who ever knew that their lives were so entwined and
in so curious a way? Je ne regrette rien, for spending some time
with this fascinating article from the U.K. Guardian.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/
CAN
PRINCE CHARLES FORGIVE HIS TORMENTORS? The question is seriously
raised by Roger Scruton, considered by many to be the leading
moral philosopher in Britain. Charles is villified, says Scruton
in this article from the U.K. Spectator, because he has
about him a remnant of the "sacred awe" that clings
to royalty.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/
SOME
ACADEMICS REALLY WERE "SOFT ON COMMUNISM"...and in this
article from today's Wall Street Journal we get some
important gleanings from a new book (Reds) that highlights
the see-no-evil disposition toward the USSR at its worst. The
new book is by an old friend of ours, Ted Morgan or, as he was
in his earlier life, Le Comte Sanche de Gramont.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
THE
IMAGE OF THE PIRATE. How did they get to be so growly and amusingly
grotesque? This article from Common-Place magazine goes
a long way in answering an interesting question that we never
thought to ask.
http://www.common-place.org/
SIDNEY
BECHET AND HIS FRIENDS. These great, mostly up-tempo, performances
were recorde in New York during the 1930s. Dont miss: Shag, Weary
Blues and Maple Leaf Rag.
http://redhotjazz.com/
November 17, 2003:
IRAQ'S FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR. Nizar
Hamdoon, who appeared twice on our program, died last July. Just
a month before that he met with Dan Pipes and then addressed the
Middle East Forum. Here is a full report from the Middle East
Quarterly.
http://www.meforum.org/
THE
EUROPRESS DECIDES THAT ALL IS LOST! This light-hearted, but not
benign, review of what the European press is saying about the
war in Iraq has just appeared in the National Review.
http://www.nationalreview.com/
ANOTHER
PRESIDENT CLINTON (IN 2004?). We offer this startling story from
today's Newsweek without further comment...but with an
audible gulp.
http://www.msnbc.com/
A
QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF PRESS "BIAS." According to these
researchers, both the New York Times and the Washington
Post do show bias in their descriptions of members of the
Senate. The report of this "content analysis" study
is from the Wall Street Journal.
http://online.wsj.com/
EUROPEAN
ANTISEMITISM HAS BECOME ENDEMIC. So says the author of this report
just published in Policy Review, the journal of the Hoover
Institution at Stanford University.
http://www.policyreview.org/
WAS
EARLY HOMO SAPIENS PARTLY NEANDERTHAL? The question arises in
the light of a recent discovery in a Romanian cave. Here are some
of the details in a brief story from Ananova.
http://www.ananova.com/
WHAT
EDWARD SAID SAID. He left behind some who adulated him and others
who condemned him. Here, in an article from the British magazine
Prospect, he gets a mixed (and, we think, fair) evaluation
from one of his former students.
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/
MACDONALD'S
MCGEE: AN APPRECIATION. We share with Jonathan Yardley of the
Washington Post, his enthusiasm for the Travis McGee
novels of John D. MacDonald. MacDonald--who appeared once on Extension
720--is correctly seen here as a significant American writer.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
I
SEE A DARK-HAIRED WOMAN HERE! Or a younger man, or a doctor or
someone making trouble at the office...or whatever. That's how
you could start a "cold reading." For more on the art
of the mentalist here's the Amazing Randi who has astonished our
listeners more than once.
http://www.randi.org/
THE
BEATLES AFTER THE BEATLES. This great site has seperate performances,
post 1970, by Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon. Don't
miss: My Sweet Lord, Imagine or Back of Bugaloo.
http://www.hhstarr.addr.com/
November 14, 2003:
THE CIA'S "BLEAK ASSESMENT"
FROM IRAQ. The report that seems to have pushed the policy toward
quicker "hand-over" of governmental power in Iraq leaked
very quickly. As have the details of the new plan, reported here
in The Australian newspaper.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
BUT
COULD HE TELL HIS OWN MOTHER? This great article from today's
Washington Post gets behind the prevarication curtain
that covers the CIA's covert agents.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
A
MAJOR REPORT ON IRAQ FROM A TRULY "RELIABLE SOURCE."
The analyst is the redoubtable Anthony Cordesman of the Center
for Strategic and International Studies. He has just returned
from his latest on-the-ground investigation and here are his sobering
conclusions.
http://www.csis.org/
O'ROURKE
IN IRAQ. This one isn't funny and isn't meant to be...even though
it's P.J. O'Rouke being interviewed here, by The Atlantic,
about his Middle Eastern perigrinations.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
LABORATORY
GENERATION OF "LIFE!" It has already happened, at least
at the viral level...and the consequences are partly calculable
and both hopeful and scary. The higher import of such Promethean
hubris may require extended contemplation. These striking new
developments on the Frankenstein front were reported in today's
issue of New Scientist.
http://www.newscientist.com/
AND
SPEAKING OF HUBRIS! This view of the mayor of New York is supplied
by John Fund in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently you
can buy the mayor's office if you are a billionaire, but political
wisdom doesn't come with the package.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
FAKE
SCIENCE...is often more interesting (certainly more amusing!)
than the real thing. Here's a top ten of science scams published
yesterday by the UK Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
THE
LOWERING OF HIGHER EDUCATION. Is there a plot in the western world
to destroy the very "Idea of a University?" Surely Cardinal
Newman would turn in his mortarboard if he knew what successive
British governments have done to their universities. It is all
brilliantly and scornfully laid out by Stefan Collini in this
recent article from the London Review of Books.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/
MEL
GIBSON, THE VATICAN, THE ADL AND JESUS. What a mess! And who needs
this at a time when seriously threatening anti-semitism is rising
in the world and on the European and American left?
http://www.forward.com/
ON
THE MAKING OF A GREAT MUSICIAN. That, Yehudi Menuhin surely was
and how he constructed himself makes a fascinating story--reviewed
here in an entry from Brian Micklethwaite's Education Blog.
http://www.brianmicklethwait.com/
A
MASTERWORK BY LOUIS SPOHR. He was a fine (but is now a rather
neglected) composer in the German Romantic tradition. This work
of his late years is beautifully written and is here movingly
performed.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November 13, 2003:
IRAQ WAR III IS BLAZING. The US military
have obviously begun to pursue a more "proactive" plan.
This
informative story appeared yesterday in the Los Angeles Times.
http://www.latimes.com/
THE
SOROS SAGA, CONT'D. What was (or is) Soros thinking? And why haven't
more Democrats rejected what he said? Could big bucks have something
to do with it? The article is from the New York Sun.
http://daily.sun.com/
HITCHEN'S
REJECTS THE CLAIM THAT WE COULD HAVE GOT OUR WAY PEACEFULLY IN
IRAQ. In his always-spirited style, he takes on the story that
Perle had a real regime-changing offer in his hands.
http://slate.msn.com/
FRIEDMAN'S
REACH MAY WELL EXCEED ANYONE'S GRASP. His New York Times
column today on Saudi/Israeli potential interdependence is, perhaps,
visionary--and, perhaps, an improvisation because the column was
late. Or, is there anything in his argument that would be taken
as useful advice in Riyadh?
http://www.nytimes.com/
FORTY
YEARS AGO IN DALLAS. A newsman who was on the scene on November
22, 1963 describes the way the news of Kennedy's death reached
the press corps. This chilling reminiscence has just appeared
in American Heritage magazine.
http://www.americanheritage.com/
NAT
HENTOFF ON MRS. SCHIAVO'S "RIGHT TO DIE." Hentoff is
a great ACLU activist but on this issue he seems to have broken
with them completely. In this column from the Village Voice,
he argues strongly for her right to live. Disturbing and fascinating!
http://www.villagevoice.com/
REVISITING
FRANCE UNDER THE NAZIS. Robert Gildea has done a major historical
study of life during the period of the Vichy regime. In this interview,
just published in the Atlantic magazine, he examines
the considerable French cooperation with, as well as resistance
to, the Nazi occupiers.
http://www.theatlantic.com/
WHO
OR WHAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS? We had thought the question to have
been answered (Death Star theory and all that) but it now appears
to be otherwise. This fine article from the Economist
will fill you in on the details of the new scientific speculation
about the rise and fall of the whole oversized family.
http://www.economist.com/
HOW
DARK IS THE UNIVERSE AND WHY DOES IT MATTER. Some 70-75% of the
universe is made of "dark matter." We have learned this
only in recent years and CERN on the border of Switerland and
France has been the base for much of the relevant research. Here,
from the CERN Courier is an article for lay persons who
want to understand the what, why (and "so what"?) of
this crucially important area of astrophysical research.
http://www.cerncourier.com/
A
SONG OF MYSELF I SING. Whitman's line comes to mind as one reads
this interesting scientoid explanation of how music appeals to
the extent that it duplicates or resonates to our "inner
harmony." This intruiging article appeared a few days ago
in the Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/
EDMUND
MORRIS ON THE REAGAN "MOCKUMENTARY." The word coined
by Morris--a former guest on our program--is just right, as is
his light contempt for the bunch who tried to put that program
on CBS. This op-ed is from yesterday's New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
TANGO AS SYMPHONIC FORM. Astor Piazolla had everything to do with
moving the tango to the concert stage. Here are eleven tangos
by Piazolla as recorded by the Buenos Aires Symphony.
http://www.piazzolla.org/
November 12, 2003:
MONEY DOESN'T BUY HAPPINESS--OR HUMILITY
EITHER! George Soros has decided to buy a victory for the Democratic
Party. Read all about it here in this rather stunning story from
the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
THE
PLOT THICKENS: IS THERE A SOROS-DEAN AXIS? The Wall Street
Journal got in early on this one and here's their take on
what the blue-eyed billionaire (and Dr. Dean) is (are) up to.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
AND
SPEAKING OF DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS...here's a deep
"take" on the General who hopes to wrest it away from
the Governor/Doctor. Boyer does this sort of thing with high panache
for the New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/
WE
DON'T USUALLY TAKE TWO ITEMS FROM ONE SOURCE...but we had to make
an exception for this engaging (and slightly worshipful) article
about Kasparov and the chess-playing machine. It appeared yesterday
in the aforementioned Wall Street Journal.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
KOLAKOWSKI
GETS THE KLUGE PRIZE...and note that "kluge" means intelligent
in German. At any rate his achievement and service in overturning
communism, were considerable as Roger Kimball--a frequent guest
on Extension 720--points out in this article for the New York
Sun.
http://daily.nysun.com/
UK
RESPONDENTS TO THE GOVERNMENT: LAY OFF OUR KIDS NUTRITION! This
interesting survey shows UK parents to be rather aggrieved at
their government meddling in the way they feed their kids. But
they are getting almost as quickly almost as fat as American kids.
Does anyone here know how to play this game? The article is from
Spiked magazine.
http://www.spiked-online.com/
THE
DESTRUCTION OF PENNSYLVANIA STATION. It still hurts, particularly
for native New Yorkers like the present proprietor. And obviously,
Alistair Cooke--who still writes and broadcasts great stuff for
the BBC--hasn't got over it either.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
PODHORETZ
AND THE PROPHETS. What does the former editor of Commentary
make of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Amos? This review, not unfriendly
but somewhat bemused, is from the journal of the Claremont Institute.
http://www.claremont.org/
WAS
THE GREEK WAY BETTER THAN THE CHINESE--OR VICE VERSA? A book that
sounds like a "must read" is reviewed here for the London
Review of Books and the UK Guardian.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/
A
COOL GENIUS. A new biographer of Glenn Gould suggests that as
a way of unraveling the enigma. It sounds, in this review from
the Globe and Mail, like a book worth reading. And it
reminds one to listen again to the new release of his early and
late performances of the Goldberg Variations.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
BACH'S
ART OF THE FUGUE. Here are two separate performances of this great
work, one of the main foundation stones upon which Western music
was erected.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November
11, 2003:
WHERE IS AL QAEDA? More and more it seems that
they are flooding into Iraq. Thus we now have a battlefield where
they may be confronted. So say these three reporters who have
been covering the Middle East for the Los Angeles Times.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
WILL
THE GOVERNING COUNCIL GOVERN? They are the closest thing to a
new Iraqi government. What holds them back from full address to
the issues and opportunities? This informative piece is from the
new issue of the National Review.
http://www.nationalreview.com/
A
SOLDIER DIES: OKINAWA, 1945. He was a relative of our friend and
frequent guest, Victor Davis Hanson, who had not yet been born.
This moving and gripping evocation of another young Victor Hanson
is from a book that has just been published.
http://www.nationalreview.com/
THE
LIMITED PARALLEL BETWEEN GERMANY THEN AND IRAQ NOW. This article
from Foreign Affairs in 1945 has been reprinted by the
editors because of its bearing upon the worrying situation in
Iraq right now. A fascinating excursion into the relevant past.
Do check it out!
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/
YOU
SHOULD BE HAPPY. WHY AREN'T YOU? Easterbrook of the New Republic
is worried about your worries. Wessel of the Washington Monthly
explains it all--or almost. This issue is worth at least fifteen
minutes of close pondering.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
FREE
SPEECH IS NOT ALIVE AND WELL...on the American campus. For the
latest outrage see this column by Professor Mike Adams of the
University of North Carolina.
http://www.townhall.com/
WE
KNEW HIM, HORATIO. A FELLOW OF INFINITE GRACE. The passing of
Irv Kupcinet is--or at the moment seems--the end of an era in
which journalism was a form of nobilty manque. At any rate, Kup
will be much missed and affectionately remembered--as he is here
in an obit by Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times.
http://www.suntimes.com/
HAS
RAUCH LOST ITS CLOUT? Brent Bozell suggests that the general public
is saturated with (or merely disgusted by?) cynically sexed-up
TV programming. His observations and argument are strongly stated
in this recent article in Human Events.
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/
WHERE
HAVE ALL THE SCHOLARS GONE? And is the scholarly life now anything
more than a laughable affectation? Julia Klein evokes Casaubon
of George Eliot's Middlemarch as a relevant (and strangely
present) personifaction of the scholar at a loss in this new article
from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
http://chronicle.com/
THE
FAT--AND EVER FATTER--WORLD. Commerce is adapting to the hard
physical reality of our having more and more "du pois."
Where it will all end know the lords of McDonalds. It is, however,
a kind of solace to know that the makers of products and services
are ready to profit in the "full bodied" market.
http://apnews.myway.com/
A
FINE PERFORMANCE OF SCHUMANN'S SECOND. The work has a brooding,
romantic quality that is well-captured in this live performance
by the Philharmonia conducted by von Dohnanyi.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November 10, 2003:
WHAT DOES IRAQ NEED? MORE TROOPS...much
more, say the boys at the Weekly Standard. Here is the
current analysis and exhortation from the team of Kristol and
Kagan. Their argument probably reflects one side of the ongoing
debate "at the highest level."
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
EUROPE
IS ON THE WAY OUT!!...says Mark Steyn in this article from the
current issue of the U.K. Spectator. The reasoning is
"demographic" and the affect is lightly contemptuous.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/
POSTREL
ON MILTON FRIEDMAN. A recent guest evaluates the lasting contribution
of a guest from previous years. Until he left the University of
Chicago, Friedman appeared often on our radio program.
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
(COLLEGE) PRESIDENT DISGRACE RACE. Which of these characters will
emerge from his presidency capable of recovering from its corrupting
effects? The current John Leo column expands the academic rogues
gallery.
http://www.townhall.com/
TERRORISM,
CIRCA 1605. Guy Fawkes' day was celebrated in the United Kingdom
last week. This item from the news desk of the BBC asks how much
damage could have been done in London if the 36 barrels of gunpowder
had been succesfully exploded. Al Qaida would have been proud
if they had pulled it off!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
UMBERTO
ECO IS NOT PULLING YOUR LEG! And in Italian he is not "pulling
your nose." This delightful excerpt from his new book appeared
recently in the UK Guardian. It examines (with copious
illustrations) the art of translation.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/
A
FRENCH SOCIOLOGIST WHO HATED THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO...but learned
to love boxing in the adjoining ghetto. Thats Loic Wacquant whose
study of the "manly art" is about to be published. The
New York Times introduces him to the world in this article
published yesterday.
http://www.nytimes.com/
LITERATURE,
LIFE AND EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY. A book review from a technical
journal that will be lucid and interesting for all laypersons.
Read it, you'll like it.
http://human-nature.com/
WHAT
ABOUT ACUPUNCTURE? The Skeptical Inquirer is the place
to go for evaluations of modes of "alternative medicine."
Here is their considered examination of the ancient Chinese medical
art. Conclusion: if it works at all, it's not for the reasons
given by the puncturer.
http://www.csicop.org/
THE
GREAT ROY ORBISON. A vast file of his recordings--and yes, Pretty
Woman is on the list!
http://www.hhtabby.addr.com/
November 7, 2003:
DESPERATELY SEARCHING SADDAM...and Osama
too. But haven't we been doing this all along? Apparently, not
very effectively. The story is from today's New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
REMEMBER
TARIQ AZIZ? Here he is in an earlier incarnation when we wined
and dined him. This fascinating article by one of the attendees
at this 1995 dinner has just been reprinted by the Hoover
Digest.
http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/
BUCKLEY ON THE KILLING OF THE SIXTEEN ON THE CHINOOK HELICOPTER.
Today one must also add the six on the new Blackhawk downed. The
founder of the National Review grapples with the qustion
of how to think about this tragic turn in the Iraq saga.
http://www.townhall.com/
WHO
IS DOING WHAT TO WHOM IN MOSCOW? The arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky
reveals a good deal about the competing powers in Russia--according
to William Safire who deciphers it all in this column from the
New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/
HITLER AT HOME: "HOMES AND GARDENS" VISITS BERCHTESGADEN.
The original 1938 article is reproduced here together with commentary
from the Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. Gemutlichkeit
and mass murder!
http://www.wymaninstitute.org/
DETECTIVES
AND PROFESSORS...and a program that could generate a near infinity
of murder mystery plots. This utterly engrossing and delightful
article by a Harvard professor was published a few days ago in
the Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/
WE
GOT WHAT WE DESERVED...say some (surely not all!) leftist academics
trying to understand why 9/11 happened. Forgive them father...they
know not how ignorant they are. The article is from the Accuracy
in Academia website.
http://www.academia.org/
THE
GERMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE JEWS DURING THE "NAZIZEIT."
This article, just published in First Things, is by an
Opus Dei priest on the faculty of the Pontifical University in
Rome. Its revelations are dismaying and its contribution to the
continuing controversy is of possible decisive value.
http://www.firstthings.com/
FILM,
CELEBRITY AND STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING. Now here's the way to view
the latest films if you can escape the New York Obersever's
tounge-in-cheek reportage.
http://www.observer.com/
DYLAN
THOMAS--FIFTY YEARS GONE. But his poetry still resonates with
a Welsh "barbaric yawp." This feature from the UK Guardian
covers the essential biography and provides some informative
(or, at least, entertaining) links.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/
LATE
ROMANTIC OR EARLY MODERN? That question about Gabriel Faure has
been sometimes debated. But beyond debate is the beauty and perfection
of his Requiem, here performed "live" at a concert in
Hong Kong.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November 6, 2003:
BROOKS OPINES ON THE NATURE OF THE IRAQI ENEMY.
This somber but gripping column by the New York Times'
new conservative columnist appeared in the paper two days ago.
Whatever else you think, the guy can write!
http://www.nytimes.com/
THE
ATTEMPT TO DELEGITIMATE ISRAEL. When the intellectuals get into
the act it is clear that the Palestinian propaganda offensive
is paying off. This column from the Jerusalem Post clarifies
some aspects of "the plan."
http://www.jpost.com/
SO
WHAT IS PUTIN REALLY LIKE? As it goes western in media style,
the Russian press is now doing "psychological profiles"
of its emminentos. What more appropriate target than their president?
This ran yesterday in the English language edition of Pravda.
http://english.pravda.ru/
A
MAN ALWAYS WORTH LISTENING TO. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National
Security Advisor recently did a "tour of the horizon"
speech about foreign and military policy. It was, to say the least,
thought-provoking...and here it is.
http://www.prospect.org/
THE
FIRST EARTH-FABRICATED OBJECT TO ESCAPE THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Voyager
I has reached the outer boundary and the data coming in are exciting
but confusing.
http://news.yahoo.com/
JUST
WHO ARE WE TALKING TO? The development of "call centers"
located all over the world (and especially in India) means that
the person who is servicing you may have been trained to imitate
your accent. A fascinating aspect of globalization is revealed
in this story from the Canadian National Post.
http://www.nationalpost.com/
THE
PRIVATE LIFE OF A FOUNDING FATHER. That's Gouverneur Morris who--when
he wasn't pondering the design of the constitution--gave hedonism
a good try. The book reviewed here is by an old friend of ours,
Richard Brookhiser, who earlier did a major study of George Washington.
http://www.claremont.org/
DOES
IOWA STATE HAVE A PRESIDENT? A DEAN? A RESPONSIBLE ADULT? Or anyone
else who knows the meaning of "in loco parentis?" The
story is from today's Des Moines Register.
http://www.dmregister.com/
THE
FORMER PRESIDENT BOMBS IN SEATTLE. Add up the costs of getting
him there and his appearance at a fund-raising event nets out
in the negative. Apparently the draw is stonger in the northeast
than in the northwest. Whyyyyy?
http://seattletimes.newsource.com/
WHAT
THE ANGELINOS THAT MATTER ARE EATING! By their commestibles shall
ye know them...and tastes (for food!) are changing in Los Angeles
according to David Shaw of the Los Angeles Times. There
must be a deeper meaning in this seismic cuisine shift.
http://www.latimes.com/
THE
OLD COMEDY ORDER PASSETH AND GIVETH WAY TO THE NEW. Terry Teachout
is an always readable observer of the arts scene. In this piece
from today's Wall Street Journal he ruminates on the
meaning of the decline of the Broadway show "The Producers,"
which he takes to have been the last of the traditional musicals.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
SHOSTAKOVICH'S
MOST "PROBLEMATIC" SYMPHONY...and, we think, one of
his greatest works. Before you listen do click on the work notes
and get the full story of the composer's troubles with the Soviet
musical establishment.
http://classicalplus.gmn.com/
November
5, 2003:
WOLFOWITZ AND THE REASON FOR THE IRAQ WAR. David
Ignatius illuminates the thought and aspirations of the crucially
positioned Assistant Secretary of Defense. This quite instructive
and slightly idealized article appeared in the Washington
Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
YESTERDAY'S
ELECTIONS? Is a voter-shift becoming visible? Does it favor southern
Republicans? The possibilites are examined in this informative
story from today's Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/
THEN
WHY DOESN'T SHE KEEP HER HUSBAND AT HOME? But Mrs. Kerry is to
be congratulated for calling a spade a spade...well, at any rate,
a cynical circus a cynical circus.
http://www.bostonherald.com/
WHAT
A DISGUSTIN' DEVELOPMENT DIS IS...as Jimmy Durante used to say.
Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post (a favorite guest
on our program) is the best source for what is going wrong in
American media life--and this report from Monday's paper may convey
a harbinger of the ultimate decline of local TV news.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
ARE
THE MEDIA BEGINNING TO TILT TO THE RIGHT? Well, not exactly but,
according to Brian Anderson of City Journal, traditionalist,
libertarian and conservative views are showing up in media locations
in which, until recently, they were notable by their absence.
The link is to a Wall Street Journal repeat of the original
article from City Journal.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
WE
FIND A NEW GALAXY! It's just next door and we (the Milky Way,
that is) are beginning to consume it. This story from New
Scientist should make it all clear. Be sure to check out
the linked graphics.
http://www.newscientist.com/
WHAT DO AMERICANS NOT KNOW AND WHY DON'T THEY KNOW IT? Among other
items that leave a majority fixed in blank stares is the challenge
of naming a cabinet department...any cabinet department! Look
upon this story, oh citizens, and despair.
http://www.pollingcompany.com/
A
GERMAN TAKE ON THE AMERICAN SECULAR ILLUMINATI. Or, here's how
this reporter from the Suddeutsche Zeitung understands
Minsky, Dennet and the "New Humanists."
http://www.edge.org/
HE
HEARD AMERICA SINGING...and he was an enthusiastic celebrant of
American writing. But, according to this review/essay from Commentary
magazine, Alfred Kazin never left the left--and that made his
appreciative ear a little tinny.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/
MORE
GREAT SWING. Miller, Lunceford, Barnet and Gray all specialized
in tightly orchestrated and truly swinging performances. Gray's
"No Name Jive" and Lunceford's "Blues in the Night"
are outstanding.
http://www.hhstarr.addr.com/
November 4, 2003:
SAFIRE FINDS THE PROPER NAME FOR IT!
We are, indeed, now engaged in the third Iraq War. Safire's analysis
seems, as usual, to be effectively realistic. And his call to
have General Abazaid address the Iraqis in his fluent Arabic is
a good idea whose time has surely come.
http://www.nytimes.com/
AFTER
THE MESS WE MADE IN POST-WAR EUROPE...should we go on in post-war
Iraq? That is the question, posed ironically, in this piece from
master-blogger Glenn Reynolds. And the Saturday Evening Post
cover (was it a Rockwell?) is great.
http://www.instapundit.com/
DAVID
FRUM (WHO USED TO WORK FOR PRESIDENT BUSH)...takes on one of Bush's
severest (and possibly funniest) critics, Al Franken. We think
Frum wins on points and does useful service in directing readers
to Mark Steyn.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/
AND
HERE IS STEYN'S LATEST...from last Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times.
In what sense are Dean, Kerry and Clark "metrosexuals?"
Read on!
http://www.suntimes.com/
A
MAJOR ESSAY ON ANTISEMITISM. Here is a particularly arresting
interpretation of the history of this millenial pattern of vilification
and destructiveness. It is by one of the most admired members
of the Israeli government: Natan Sharansky who got to Israel only
after years in the Soviet Gulag. The current issue of Commentary
magazine is the source.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/
THE
CONGRESSIONAL ABUSE OF JUDGE PICKERING. This piece is by the outstanding
civil-libertarian (and, incidentally, great jazz critic) Nat Hentoff.
It appeared in the Village Voice for which he writes
regular column.
http://www.villagevoice.com/
WHAT'S
HAPPENING INSIDE AMERICAN CA
