Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
The Obama government has rationalised its failure to prosecute anyone (literally, anyone at all) for bubble-related crimes by saying that while much of Wall St's behaviour was unwise or unethical, it wasn't illegal. What rubbish
Individually the poor are not too tempting to thieves. Collectively, they provide a juicy target. "The trick is to rob them in ways that are systematic, impersonal, and almost impossible to trace to individual perpetrators"
US reaches tipping point in transition from "mostly white baby boomer culture to globalised multi-ethnic country". What does it mean? Will older Americans balk at paying for a generation who look less like themselves?
Scathing takedown of US president. "It isn’t simply that Obama lied. Politicians lie. But there are norms for political lying. The depth and dependability of Obama’s misrepresentation constitute a difference in kind"
"One day, not long from now, it will be hard to remember what worried people so much about gay and lesbian couples committing themselves to marriage." Eventually the US Supreme Court will "do the right thing", as Obama has just done
How America's Supreme Court rewrote campaign finance law in the case of Citizens United. "The decision followed a lengthy and bitter behind-the-scenes struggle that produced both secret unpublished opinions and a rare reargument"
"With his switch from ambivalence to advocacy, Obama is sending a signal to the courts that the country is ready for gay marriage, giving them cover to uphold it. Courts like to stay within the mainstream. Obama has just moved it"
Curtis introduces 40-minute film about how Norman Mailer stood for mayor of New York in 1969. "It captures a phenomenon that has come to dominate (and possibly strangle) western metropolitan society today – the rise of the hipster"
Celebrated author joins arms with Warren Buffett in expletive-laden demand to be taxed more. "The channels making upward mobility possible are being increasingly clogged. Those who have received much must be obligated to pay"
On the chairman of House Budget Committee, designer of Republican budget. Rose seemingly without trace. All but unchallengeable by Romney, other senior Republicans. Democrats are having a job too. But his plan is not moderate
Will the apparent unpopularity of Obamacare sway US Supreme Court justices? They may think the coast is clear to strike down the law. If they do, they'll be misreading the polls and making a mockery of their constitutional role
"A government that creates mass incarceration is the obvious result of the ideologies of neo-conservatism and neo-liberalism that have come to dominate in the wake of the New Deal liberal order’s collapse." Here's why
Fran Lebowitz, on post-9/11 security
"All you would hear was: 'safety, safety, safety'. I think there is nothing more dangerous than constantly thinking about safety"
