So, I discovered today that the NPR iPod app gives me access to recordings of many recent Intelligence Squared debates, so I spent a good chunk of the day listening to a few of them. Quite a few of them were really interesting and entertaining, and if you haven’t already, I would definitely recommend them. One in particular drew my attention, though not because it was particularly good, but because I felt like the debaters dropped the ball on a key point. The question was “Is it wrong to pay for sex?” The debate broke down along...
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and I don't like Star Wars
Every year, when the weather is just warm enough to ditch the jacket and sweater for a few hours in the middle of the day, I get nostalgic for bicycling. I was never a competitive biker, or even particularly good at it, but I love it. It has been a few years since I lived in a bike-friendly city, but D.C. looks promising. This post was going to lament the lack of bike lanes in the city, but today the Post reported that L, I , additional bits of 15th and parts of Pennsylvania Ave. are getting...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Good morning, everybody. Nomar’s retiring as a Red Sox, Lindsay Lohan is suing, and De Niro’s going to play Vince Lombardi. Now, enjoy your morning constitutional: Teen star Corey Haim died of an apparent overdose in Los Angeles last night. An Associated Press-GfK poll shows the President is still more popular than Congress. In Wichita, a man paid a crack dealer with Monopoly money. Unsurprisingly, the dealer wasn’t happy about it. The arrest of a Pennsylvania woman in October for trying to recruit Islamic terrorists on sites like YouTube raises questions about homegrown terrorism. Bike directions have...
Continue reading...Happy Gay Marriage Day, D.C.
Today’s the day that equal marriage really begins in D.C., and the Associated Press predicts that up to 150 same-sex couples are eligible today to wed. So, the best from us at V+V to all of you in D.C. finally being able to say your vows to those you love today. (Same-sex marriage was made legal last Wednesday, but there is a three-day waiting period from applying for a marriage license to getting one. Hence, today’s the first day.) Update: DCist has more about the first few same-sex wedding around the city today: The Post reported earlier that...
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Interestingly enough, today’s New York Times front page contains only two mentions of “health care.” One is a letter to the editor, while the other is a link to a Paul Krugman blog post. I mention this, mostly because I discovered this odd fact while looking for yesterday’s piece which did appear on the front page (as well as page A1 of the print version): “Obama Turns Up the Volume in Health Care Bid.” And I mention this because the story, probably the most important story of the day on an issue that is arguably the most...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Good morning, everybody. Betty White’s going to host SNL, T.I. drops a new single, and Sean Penn might hope you die screaming of rectal cancer. Now, on to your morning constitutional: In California, Republican state Sen. Roy Ashburn, arrested for drunk driving this weekend after leaving a gay nightclub, admitted Monday that he is, in fact, gay. The Christian Science Monitor asks where gay Republicans fit among conservatives. Elizabeth Green, in The New York Times Magazine, asks what makes a good teacher. Despite a Texas Republican primary last week that drew the most GOP voters in at...
Continue reading...How the scurvy cure was lost
Over at Idle Words, a fascinating story about the history of scurvy, and how the cure, which was basically discovered in 1747, was somehow not well-known even as late as Robert Falcon Scott’s 1911 expedition to the South Pole. Now, I had been taught in school that scurvy had been conquered in 1747, when the Scottish physicianJames Lind proved in one of the first controlled medical experiments that citrus fruits were an effective cure for the disease. From that point on, we were told, the Royal Navy had required a daily dose of lime juice to be...
Continue reading...Ready to die
With so much coverage over the past several months of the Green Revolution in Iran, it’s easy to forget how often disputed election results occur in nascent democracies, how often this leads to street-level protests, which end up, far too frequently, with street-level violence. And even without violence, disputed election results, whether caused by wholesale corruption in the worst cases, or honest mistakes in the best cases, damage presidencies and the overall reputation of democracy. Most recently, Afghanistan’s disputed election last year has undermined President Karzai’s government, while the disputed 2000 election in the United States—arguably the...
Continue reading...Morning Constitutional – Monday, 8 March 2010
Good morning, everybody. The Dude was the best actor, Annie was the best actress, and The Hurt Locker was the best picture. Now, please enjoy your morning constitutional: Iraqis voted in large numbers Sunday, according to the New York Times, despite mortar and rocket attacks, a hopeful sign that the insurgency’s strategy is wearing thin and obsolete. President Obama is expected to announce his choice of retired Army Gen. Robert Harding to lead the Transportation Security Administration today, according to the AP. Harding served in the Army for 33 years, and had been the top human intelligence officer...
Continue reading...Required reading
So, until this is all ready to go, go ahead and read Pericles’s Funeral Oration, which is as follows: Most of my predecessors in this place have commended him who made this speech part of the law, telling us that it is well that it should be delivered at the burial of those who fall in battle. For myself, I should have thought that the worth which had displayed itself in deeds would be sufficiently rewarded by honors also shown by deeds; such as you now see in this funeral prepared at the people’s cost. And...
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