The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
In the New Yorker...
Jeff Wrangler:
Over lunch today, I enjoyed John Lanchester's article on the invention of money. I may have more to say about that later.
Front-Ranger:
Yes, that was a surprisingly good article. The amazing story of John Law!
I read the Al Franken story today as well as Jill Lepore's piece on Melville. Both were good.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on August 09, 2019, 07:13:05 pm ---I read the Al Franken story today as well as Jill Lepore's piece on Melville. Both were good.
--- End quote ---
Makes me mad about Franken. I knew that photo and her story were not exactly what they seemed. I was less skeptical of the seven other women, but his transgressions in their cases, whether deliberate or not, seem relatively forgivable. I thought he was a good senator (he's from my state; in fact, grew up near where I did) and would have made a good presidential candidate.
However, I will say that I mentioned him as a potential candidate to a woman I worked with, about a week or two before the photo scandal erupted. My coworker, an attractive 40-ish woman whose politics are about like mine, said she agreed, but ... she added that she'd sat next to him once at a banquet once and he gave off "a vibe."
"Oh, well, a vibe," I said kind of (politely) dismissively.
"No, it was a pretty strong vibe," she said. But she added that she still liked him as a politician.
But I think the main reason he was forced to resign was because a pedophile was running for office in Alabama.
Fun fact: Franken grew up in the same Minneapolis suburb, around roughly the same time, as the Coen Brothers, Tom Friedman, and a couple of other less famous but still successful writers. (All were Jewish; it was the suburb that, for whatever reason, many Jewish families lived back then.) I've often wondered if there was something in the water! :laugh:
Front-Ranger:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on August 08, 2019, 09:35:00 am ---"Devils Advocate" was a long and wild ride through the depraved world of Jeffrey Epstein, Alan Dershowitz, and a host of teenage girls. Hard to read but great reporting!
--- End quote ---
Now comes the news that Epstein has taken his own life in prison. He was on a suicide watch. Whoever was watching dropped the ball. Or was told to drop it.
Front-Ranger:
I recall that article mentions Dag Hammarskjöld as one of the first people who died who were linked to a conspiracy theory.
With my recent criticisms that I was practicing implicit racism, I felt it imperative to read "The Color of Injustice" in the August 19 issue. It was well written and compelling, and I didn't feel like I was reading a duty article. I am now better able to accept the criticism and not feel like I have to defend myself. The article mentions a couple of books that I may order and read. There are many forms of racism, as well as something called "white fragility" which I suspect I have.
The author is Kelefa Sanneh.
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