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American Culture

Perilous

On Sept. 11, 2001, the United States rejoined its fellow nations in finding itself vulnerable to attack. Because it was attacked. Americans had grown complacent since what, Pearl Harbor, 59 years and 9 months earlier? They aren’t anymore. While increasingly cautious, which is good, and arbitrarily suspicious, bad, Americans overall have gained little wisdom from […]

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American Culture

I Am So Controlling

You scroll through the Internet and land here. Your choice, your control. I create an essay, choosing topic, slant and wording. I’m in control of what you’re reading now. Hah! The wife reminds the husband about some chore. “You are so controlling,” he says. The husband expounds so about his day that the wife is […]

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American Culture

How the North Won

DATELINE MIRTHOLOGY — News item: The Fort Smith National Historic Site will host a reenactment of the Confederate occupation of Fort Smith from 1861-63 on Saturday. … Union soldiers abandoned the garrison at Fort Smith on April 23, 1861, leaving the fort open to Arkansas state troops. Union forces recaptured the fort in September 1863. […]

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American Culture

Turn Rupees to Scruples

Report: Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. Why, everyone should see Slumdog Millionaire. It’s a cross between Oliver Twist (book and any movie version) and WALL-E. Other lead characters: Fagin, Artful Dodger and Eve. The plot: fish-out-of-water-into-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire. (Shouldn’t reviews now and then be as short as possible? Complete write-ups, not capsules) In short, this is the best […]

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American Culture

Abraham and Sarah

“Today, I wrote about kittens. We’re in a gigantic financial crisis, everybody knows it, everybody is going crazy about it, everybody else is writing about it, so sometimes the best thing to do is write about kittens.” —  Jon Carroll, quoted last month by his paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, on winning the 2009 Ernie […]

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American Culture

Green Machines

Hands up for all who’ll be watching any bit of the national party conventions. Yes, I’ll avoid it, too. None of them has been on the excitement level even of a State of the Union address. If there’s something huge, a stupendous announcement, or an election-risking gaffe, conventions or presidential addresses are rebroadcast so often […]