A post by Matt Taibbi prompts me to think about why I and so many others call themselves liberals. The post deals with Wall Street oligarchs (in this case, Lloyd Blankfein), who are prominent advocates of gay rights, or others who, say, via Emily’s List, etc. are adamantly opposed to even the smallest changes to [...]
Archive for February, 2012
What is Liberalism for?
Posted in Free Market Apologists, ideas, politics, Uncategorized, tagged Glenn Greenwald, liberalism, Matt Taibbi, Occupy movement, postmodernism on February 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Is Downton Abbey a Soap Opera? (Or What Texas Football and English Country Houses have in Common)
Posted in culture, Europe, ideas, Uncategorized, tagged Downton Abbey, forgiveness, Friday Night Lights, soap operas. on February 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
At first glance the answer must be yes, and commentators generally agree. From Slate to the New Yorker, educated persons feel slightly embarrassed to be drawn into the show, and describe it as a soap opera with better scenery, better dialogue, and better acting. There is something to this shame-faced fandom: Downton relies upon a cascade [...]
