Wednesday, September 05, 2012

(P)Review - Parties Versus the People

Being the slave to NPR that I am, now that I log 20,000+ business miles each year, I get to sift through their rampant liberal propaganda and run across the occasional interesting story. Yesterday, Fresh Air had former Republican Congressman Mickey Edwards on the show talking about his new book Parties Versus People: How to turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans. The topic of how political parties are ruining America is very close to my heart, so I immediately ordered the book on Amazon (and so can you!) and I can't wait until it arrives.

Rather than give you a rundown, I'll let the NPR website give you an overview - and even a chance to listen to the radio segment for free if  you so choose.

The reason I call this a (P)Review is that I'll be reviewing this book completely as soon as I've finished. For both of you reading this blog, I encourage you to get the book, read it as well, and then weigh in on your thoughts.

Happy reading!

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Debate



Is it possible that I keep forgetting that not everyone is as interested in discussing politics as I am? Yes. Yes, it is.

Not too long ago I was unfriended on Facebook. Most of us are unaware when someone takes this action, as there is no jubilant timeline post letting us know that one of our "friends" no longer likes us. This is something I know, not because I obsessively stalk this person, but because he and I were engaged in what I thought was a civil discussion about the recent issues with Chik-Fil-A.

This "friend" (merely an acquaintance from a few years ago, not a true bosom buddy), was taking the time to vehemently denounce my favorite purveyor of chicken sandwiches because of comments and actions taken by the owner of the company regarding homosexuals. If you don't know about this recent issue, you're probably on the wrong website anyway. Please feel free to click here.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Harper's Index (TM)

Harper's Magazine is a deliciously pretentious periodical written by intellectual snobs for intellectual snobs and is full of the overwrought, the droll, and the peculiarly insightful. Naturally, I have a subscription.

A pearl of brilliance that graces the pages of the magazine is the Harper's Index, a collection of particularly pointed facts and figures that form a narrative all their own. Like many too clever for their britches, the folks behind the Index do their best to use completely non-contextualized data to make a series of points and impressions on their readers, throwing in the healthy non sequitur mostly for amusement, but occasionally for poignancy and likely mostly to take advantage of a readership who likely takes itself far too seriously (i.e. - me).