I’m interested to hear what you think about President Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan. I understand some of the criticisms of Obama’s decision: we are getting more deeply involved in an endless quagmire; we can’t afford to spend trillions fighting — for what, exactly? — when there are so many desperate problems [...]
Also tagged Afghanistan, politicsPaul Krugman and Robert Reich, two of the most prominent economists in the game, have great columns on President Obama’s stimulus plan and the need for investment in common goods. First, Krugman shoots down misleading, erroneous arguments about the stimulus plan: But the obvious cheap shots don’t pose as much danger to the Obama administration’s [...]
Also tagged consumerism, Krugman, Reich, US economyAll the people gather Fly to carry each his burden We are young despite the years We are concern We are hope despite the times All of the sudden, these days Happy throngs, take this joy wherever, wherever you go. – REM, “These Days” (Flickr slideshow here. Make sure you turn on “show info” for [...]
Also tagged hope, inaugurationHere are some of my favorite informational and celebratory links from the last few days. Please add you own in the comments. – Revelers sing on St. Marks Street at 2am. Not bad for people who supposedly hate America. – An amazing series of Obama photos from the Boston Globe. – A collection of Wednesday’s [...]
Also tagged election 2008Fly to carry each his burden We are young despite the years We are concern — we are hope despite the times All of the sudden, these days Happy throngs, take this joy wherever, wherever you go. — “These Days,” REM In the five-plus years that I’ve written this blog, there have been a handful [...]
Also tagged election 2008, unbridled joyIt’s only 11:20am here in the Eastern time zone and already, this is an election day like none other I’ve experienced before. My usually quiet group of Tuesday morning students were jacked when I came to class, trading voting stories and talking about where they would watch the returns. Email, Facebook, and my cellphone are [...]
Also tagged election 2008Bill Clinton is one seriously classy dude. He derailed the only Democratic presidency of my adult years thanks to blow jobs and his inability to tell the truth. The turmoil of his administration doomed Al Gore’s bid and paved the way for the Reign o’ Dubya. He made unacceptable statements about the role of race [...]
Also tagged Bill Clinton, politics(I’ll write more about public sociology soon, but until then…) Tonight is a watershed moment in American history. 43 years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act and 40 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, an African-American has won the right to represent one of our two major parties in the [...]
Also tagged Hillary Clinton, politics, ridiculousnessNo energy to write today, so here is a batch o’ good reads for a lazy Sunday: – In the cover story of today’s NYT Magazine, Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here; The Other Side of the River), one of those rare journalists who writes like a sociologist, investigates a relatively new program that [...]
Also tagged class, Clinton, gang violence, health inequality, media, raceAs Joe Feagin notes, Rev. Jeremiah Wright was correct in his descriptions of racism and racial inequality on the Bill Moyers show. Wright’s appearance on the Moyers show (I didn’t see it, but scanned the transcript) appeared to be a mostly positive development, a way to further national discussions of race by explaining his ministry [...]
Also tagged politics, race, Rev. Wright, sociology