Biden and Gibbs Mad Libs
Enjoy interactive Biden and Gibbs Mad Libs
On the Newsstand:IQ
Bono Saves Africa Again
Our cover here was a joke, but perhaps one not too far from the truth. Bono writes today as an op-ed guest columnist in the New York Times about the “rebooting” of Africa, and in his lilting prose, he’s actually pretty right. Development economics is a contentious and irreconcilable field; there are infinitely more questions than there are answers. In ... Read More
Final Clubs and Gender Relations
In today’s Harvard Crimson, Daniel Herz-Roiphe has written an unusually articulate, well-argued entry in the perennial “Why Final Clubs Are Still Really Bad” essay contest. I’m glad he focused on gender discrimination and inequality, rather than also trying to tackle racial, hetero-normative, and class-based elitism. Those other forms of discrimination are equally important, but I think they’re pretty low-hanging fruit. ... Read More
Mini-Kristols in the Crimson
In today’s Crimson, Colin Motley and Caleb Weatherl knock off most of the requirements for your standard anti-Obamacare hit piece. Invocation of public opinion without acknowledging that majorities favor the actual policies just enacted when they are described? Check. “Government takeover of health care”? Check. Moaning about how the bill isn’t “post-partisan,” while ignoring the fact that Republicans were never ... Read More
The Economist: Blame Obama, Not the System
Didn’t want to let this go by without comment. From the Feb. 18 edition (“What’s Wrong With Washington?”): Washington has its faults, some of which could easily be fixed. But much of the current fuss forgets the purpose of American government; and it lets current politicians (Mr Obama in particular) off the hook. America’s political structure was designed to make ... Read More
Weighing In: Harvard’s Supposed Crisis of Faith
In his post “Harvard’s Supposed Crisis of Faith,” Sam Barr criticizes Lisa Miller’s recent Newsweek article about the study of religion at Harvard: “Of course religion is important to study, …even or especially if you’re a nonbeliever. But I also said, or implied, that she was wasting her time with this article, because religion is not in nearly such dire ... Read More
Welcome to Israel
On December 23rd, 2009, Harvard Law student Hebah M. Ismail’s ’06 landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport with the intention of joining Clinical Instructor and Global Advocacy Fellow Ahmad Amara, as well as another fellow student, for research on land disputes between the Israeli government and Bedouin communities in the Negev desert. At airport security, Ismail was interrogated for ... Read More
Why Andrew Sullivan is a Hack, Part I
No, I don’t think he’s an anti-semite (see Jonathan Chait on that). But he has been reckless enough with the truth, and obsessed enough with Israel, that much of the recent criticism is spot-on. Take Sullivan’s latest post on CPAC for example. He begins by heralding Ron Paul’s surprise victory in the CPAC straw poll, and ends up with yet another diatribe against Israel and the ”neocon” quest ... Read More
Weighing In: The Tea Party Movement
Sam Barr lambasts the Crimson for “condescending” the Tea Partiers: I really don’t understand the impulse among many Harvard students (if the Crimson is any guide) to pat the Tea Partiers on the head and say, “I don’t agree with you, but you’re totally what this country is all about.” No, they’re not. They’re just crazy. I understand the need to call a ... Read More
