Oh, Jerusalem. There is no other place on Earth quite as tragic, drenched in both blood and history. And it makes for reading that cannot be put down. Here’s the short version of why you should read Simon Sebag Montefiore’s history of Jerusalem: In just under seven hundred pages, Jerusalem: The Biography is a satisfying, narrative-based […]
Archives for December 2015
Book Review | This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital by Mark Leibovich
December 16, 2015 by
If you needed any reason to be cynical about American politics–especially nationally–then Mark Leibovich’s This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital is the book for you. I guarantee that you will not put it down with a single breath of hope and optimism about […]
Utah GOP Chair James Evans letter spells out legal basis for SB 54 dispute: Certification to Utah Supreme Court next?
December 8, 2015 by
In a letter Friday (embedded below), Utah GOP Chair James Evans responded to two previous letters from Utah Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox relating to issues of disagreement between the Utah Republican Party and the Utah Elections Office over SB 54. In the letter, Evans highlights areas of disagreement with the LG and spells out the […]
In defense of physical books: home “libraries matter even more than money”
December 7, 2015 by
I can’t tell you how often Abby (7 going on 14) has gone into our library/office to find a book to read (or how often Oz, 4, or Ann, 2, carries them around, pretending to read). We’re still accumulating our collection, but she’s never come away without a book or three. Usually, I’ve got to […]
Mark Twain on the statistics of indiscriminate mass shootings in 2015
December 4, 2015 by
As the debate over how public policy should respond to mass shootings whips into a heated fury of facts, figures, statistics and memes, I can’t help but remember Mark Twain’s insight on the media: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” The last few days have seen a proliferation of examples […]
San Bernardino, knee-jerk reactions, and the hope for change
December 3, 2015 by
It may be too late for me to post-up my knee-jerk reaction to yesterday’s shootings in San Bernardino. It is a tragedy, and I hurt for those who have been killed or injured and for their families and loved ones. Nothing of this world can restore to them to what was lost yesterday. Today, in […]
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