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Tag Archives: “The Atlantic”

Are These Protests Different: 1968 vs 2020?

07 Sunday Jun 2020

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

"The Atlantic", 1968 vs 2020, George Parker, Shouting into the Institutional Void

Ellen forwarded this article to me yesterday morning, saying you “must read every word” of this piece.

I didn’t read it immediately, but when I did, it put some of the current protests in a context that makes sense to me.

While George Packer, the author, doesn’t get everything right in his Shouting into an Institutional Void, I believe his article helps to explain where we are today, particularly in relationship to 1968.

Two quotes from his Shouting into the Institutional Void.

“The difference between 1968 and 2020 is the difference between a society that failed to solve its biggest problem and a society that no longer has the means to try.”

“This is where we are. Trust is missing everywhere—between black Americans and police, between experts and ordinary people, between the government and the governed, between citizens of different identities and beliefs.”

Shouting into the Institutional Void by George Packer, staff writer for The Atlantic, June 5, 2020

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A Warning We Should Not Ignore

14 Thursday May 2020

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

"The Atlantic", 2020 Elections, Franklin Foer, Interference in Our Elections, Russia, Russian Interference in Our Elections

While I’ve cut back on how much time I am spending reading various articles, posts, news reports, and time spent on social media, tweets, etc. (Facebook is a thing of the past for me now), I continue to follow what for me are a few reliable sources of information.

In that vein, I came across something two days ago that I think is worthy of your time and consideration. It’s from The Atlantic magazine’s upcoming June 2020 publication, written by Franklin Foer, a staff writer for The Atlantic and the former editor of The New Republic. He clearly writes from a liberal perspective. Nevertheless, what he has to tell us in this somewhat lengthy article contains new and detailed information about the situation facing us vis-a-vis Russian interference in our elections, his view that it is going to happen again, and our lack of preparedness for it.

This article goes beyond anything I’ve read on this subject to date, and I hope you will spend the time to consider what he has uncovered and wants us to know:

The 2016 Election Was Just a Dry Run, by Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, June 2020

As always, I am open to your reactions, whether you agree or disagree. Use the Comment section of this post to let me and others know your reaction to what for me is a very disturbing account of where we are headed for the upcoming elections.

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Six Articles of Interest

21 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

"The Atlantic", "The NYTimes", "What the Cros Knows", David Frum, Franklin Foer, Immigration, Ross Anderson

“If difficult issues go unaddressed by responsible leaders, they will be exploited by irresponsible ones.” David Frum

For me, some of the most thoughtful and thought provoking writing about issues in our country today can be found in The Atlantic, the monthly magazine that focuses on contemporary political affairs and issues.

Four of the articles I link to in this post come from The Atlantic, and the first one cited is one I would say is an ‘important read.’ I rarely use the label ‘must read,’ but if as a country we are going to address the issue of immigration from a rational, factual basis and not largely from an emotional one, as is generally happening today, David Frum’s piece strikes me as a good starting point. I suspect you will learn from it, as did I. For those who are looking for a way to understand an important and divisive issue and looking for common ground to discuss it, do spend the time it will take to read this. Even though it’s lengthy, I’ve read it twice as there is so much to absorb. I suspect I will reread too.

How Much Immigration Is Too Much?, by David Frum, The Atlantic, April 2019. This Canadian America is a senior editor at The Atlantic, was a speech writer for George W. Bush, has published numerous books on politics in America, and is generally thought of as a conservative Republican.

Americans Remain Deeply Divided About Diversity, by Emma Green, The Atlantic, Feb. 2019. This Atlantic staff writer looks at our country and recent research about how and where we live and why sameness not difference is prized by many Americans.

We’re Losing the War on Corruption by Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, March 13, 2019. Foer is another writer at The Atlantic and the author of the book How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization.

What the Crow Knows: A Journey into the Animal Mind by Ross Anderson, The Atlantic, March 2019. Something different from the three above as this writer explores “What science can tell us about how other creatures experience the world.”

52 Books for 52 Places, from the editors of the NY Times, Feb. 14, 2019, wherein they present “some reading suggestions — fiction and nonfiction, essays, poems — that may help you to better explore cities, countries, regions and states” in connection with their series 52 Places to Go in 2019. I have read 10 of these and can vouch for the high quality of those 10 choices.

America’s Best Jewish Delis by the editors of Food & Wine, March 2019. Ten places around the country to satisfy those who know and value this sort of eating and want up-to-date information about where to find what you might remember from your childhood. Hat tip to Chuck Tilis for the link.-

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Do You Know of Jordan Peterson?

10 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

"12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos", "The Atlantic", Caitlin Flanagan, Jordan P. Peterson, The Atlantic Magazine

Thanks to several emails from my friend who sees the world somewhat differently than I, here is an article by Caitlin Flanagan published Aug 9, 2018 in The Atlantic that he encouraged me to read. I pass it on to MillersTime readers as I start to explore more about what this man, Jordan Peterson, has to say.

I find the title and some of what Flanagan writes to focus perhaps too heavily on the “Left” in our political world when I gather Peterson is also warning the “Right” at the same time.

Let me know if you explore Peterson’s writing, podcasts, etc., and what you think about what he has to say.

Continue reading »

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Seeing a Total Eclipse

15 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

"The Atlantic", "Total Eclipse", Annie Dillaird's Essay "Total Eclipse", Annie Dillard

(Credit Reuters)

I suspect many of you have seen a partial eclipse (of the sun). But most of you probably haven’t seen a full eclipse. I haven’t.

And I hadn’t planned to stay in Kansas City where I am as I write this (‘helping’ my daughter and son-in-law celebrate the birth of their second child). Specifically, my wife and I had planned to return to home to DC on Sunday, having been here a full two weeks by then.

As it turns out, Sunday is the day before the August 21 full eclipse, and the view from the Kansas City area, which, according to NASA, is in “the path of totality.” Still, my own parents had always warned me about over staying one’s welcome.

Then I read Annie Dilliard’s Classic Essay: Total Eclipse, which has just been reprinted in The Atlantic. It was first published in 1986, and she quite convincingly writes that there is no comparison between a partial and a full eclipse. Beyond that, her essay is eyeopening and beautifully written.

I urge you to read it also, while I am in the process of changing my reservations back to DC, where the viewing is decent, but nothing close to what will be possible from here.

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“My President Was Black,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates

13 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

"Between the World and Me", "The Atlantic", "The Beautiful Struggle", "The New Jim Crow", Michelle Alexander, Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer for The Atlantic, author of Between the World and Me and The Beautiful Struggle, and someone who always seems to have something of value to teach, just wrote a lengthy (17,000 words) article in the upcoming Atlantic.

Entitled My President Was Black: A History Of The First African-American White House And Of What Came Next, it is, for me, the best article I’ve read about the Obama presidency and the 2016 election results. While it will certainly take years to fairly evaluate President Obama’s legacy and untangle the meaning of the 2016 election, Coates certainly opens the discussion.

Coming just after I finished Michelle Alexander’s superb 2010 book The New Jim Crow, which has opened my eyes in a way nothing else has in the last few years (more on this in a later post), Coates’ thoughts and views on the meaning of Obama’s presidency continue to instruct.

See what you think: My President Was Black.

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Post Election Reading

22 Tuesday Nov 2016

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

"Hillbilly Elegy", "New Republic", "Talking Points Memo", "The Atlantic", J.D. Vance, Koch Brothers' Agenda, Mark Lillanov, Matt Stoller, NYTimes, Sarah Jones

In previous posts, I indicated it was time to “listen” to what the election was telling us. Mostly, I have stopped spending so much time on social media (particularly Twitter and Facebook) and also have largely been staying away from some of the more mainstream media which was so inaccurate leading up to election.

I am posting below links to a number of articles of varying lengths and on various topics that have caught my attention and interest.

The End of Identity Liberalism, by Mark Lillanov, NYTimes, Nov. 18, 2016.  A short article that speaks to one area the Democrats need to consider. Bernie Sanders said something similar to this yesterday.

How Democrats Killed Their Populist Soul, Matt Stoller, The Atlantic, Oct. 24, 2016. A lengthy article that I think Democrats need to read and discuss as they/we consider how to rebuild a party that has lost what it once stood for. (Stoller once worked with Ellen at the Sunlight Foundation, and I invariably find his thinking and writing thoughtful and valuable.)

Behind the “Make America Great” the Koch Agenda Returns with a Vengence, By Theda Skocpol, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez and Caroline Tervo, Talking Points Memo, Nov. 21, 2016. Not as lengthy as the article above but useful in understanding that money did influence this election and that what is ahead is worrisome for those who have concerns about the Koch agendas.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis, by J.D. Vance, 272 pages, Harper, June 28, 2016. This memoir has received a lot of attention as Vance writes from the “inside” about a part of our country that only now is getting significant attention. Vance grew up in the Middletown OH (the Rust Belt) and in Johnston, KY (an Appalachian town) and writes with intimate knowledge of one portion of America that has deservedly gained much attention in this election. Both Ellen and I found the book valuable.

J.D. Vance, the False Prophet of Blue America, by Sarah Jones, New Republic, Nov. 17, 2016.  A very short article calling into question some of the conclusions Vance draws in the book mentioned above.

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A Novel and A Memoir: Each Tells a Story Worth Discussing

21 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

"Between the World and Me", "Go Set a Watchman", "The Atlantic", "The Beautiful Struggle", "To Kill a Mockingbird", Harper Lee, Pulitzer Prize, Ta-Nehisi Coates

Here are two books that consumed me in the past week. I read them back to back and think there is good reason to read them together. They are very different in major ways, one being a novel that takes place in the 1950s and the other being nonfiction, a letter to the writer’s son, written this year. Both are short and both deal with issues of family, race, and society in our country.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, 288 pages

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Our Increased Life Expectancy: Two Views

20 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest

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"The Atlantic", "What Happens When We All Live to 100?", "Why I Hope to Die at 75", Aging, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Gregg Easterbrook, Increased Life Expectancy

The October 2014 issue of The Atlantic has two articles that focus on the issues raised by our increased life expectancy. Though they seem to come to different conclusions, each author and article gives the reader much to consider:

Gregg Easterbrook: What Happens When We All Live to 100:  If life-expectancy trends continue, that future may be near, transforming society in surprising and far-reaching ways.

Esekiel J. Emanuel: Why I Hope to Die at 75: An argument that society and families—and you—will be better off if nature takes its course swiftly and promptly.

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Sluggers’ Slump: What’s Going on Here?

18 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by Richard in Go Sox

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"The Atlantic", baseball, Brian Mills, Doc Ellis, Hitting, MLB, No-Hitter, Pirates, Pitch f/x, Pitching, Strike Zone, Umpires

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(Jacob deGrom Ties MLB Record, Strikes Out 8 Straight. Pix-USA Today)

Have you noticed how it seems hitting has been trumped by pitching in baseball, not only this year but for a number of years now?

With Red Sox in last place, 26 games behind the AL East winner Orioles, I have had a good deal of time to think about more than just my beloved team and their miseries. While I have enjoyed the Nats’ good season, it’s not the same as rooting for Boston.

Looking at some box scores a few weeks ago, I was struck by what seemed to me to be low batting averages, even of the best players for the best teams in baseball. In fact, when I looked at the six leading teams in all the MLB Divisions, only two clubs had anyone hitting over .300 (one of those two teams just had one player hitting .301, and he is now below .300).

I began looking at other statistics, going back as far as 2000. Here are just some of the things I found when I looked at every year from 2000-2014 (being retired and having a losing baseball team allows for spending time on such matters):

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