Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

Title Alert. Who Is Which?

Posted on February 19, 2021 by JMN

The ear was pricked by news that the Duke of Edinburgh was in hospital. Her Majesty is being kept closely apprised. The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall are on the scene. (The Duke of York’s whereabouts is presently unreported.) The … Continue reading →

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The Sin of Conscience (Having One)

Posted on February 17, 2021 by JMN

Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania is one of 7 Republican senators who voted to convict the former president during his impeachment trial. Toomey has said he will not run for reelection in 2022. “We did not send him there to … Continue reading →

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Reading God’s Mind

Posted on February 16, 2021 by JMN

“Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God!” said the letter, addressed to Kinzinger, the word “disappointment” underlined three times and “God” underlined once, according to the version published by the Times. “You go against your … Continue reading →

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Birds of a Kerfuffle…

Posted on February 15, 2021 by JMN

“The clear message that we get from the proceedings in America is that after all the toings and froings and all the kerfuffle, American democracy is strong and the American constitution is strong and robust.” (Martin Pengelly, “Boris Johnson calls … Continue reading →

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Never Cease Not Forgetting the Alamo

Posted on February 14, 2021 by JMN

Civilians who take handgun training in Texas shoot at human outlines. The practice fits the tool to its purpose, which is felling humans. The shooter aims for center body mass — a generous sweet spot housing vital organs. Fifty rounds … Continue reading →

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Make Us Better. Great’s Gone

Posted on February 9, 2021 by JMN

From the confines of a rural burrow (!) in a republic reeling from 4 years of accelerated decline, the notion of national greatness has the consistency of a heat mirage. Still, it comes as a shock, amid a pandemic, that … Continue reading →

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Ether, Either, Eater

Posted on February 8, 2021 by JMN

I’ve had a unique opportunity to parley with a friend over how the intervocalic “d” sounds in Spanish word endings such as “-ado,” “-edo,” “-ido,” “-odo,” and “-udo.” English-speaking students of Spanish will tend to say such endings with the … Continue reading →

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Shiny Objects and Hot Takes

Posted on February 7, 2021 by JMN

When I re-read my EthicalDative posts at a later date they often seem overly arch or frivolous — less trenchant and cleansing than they felt at the moment of posting. “Stale” is the word to describe them, I suppose, with … Continue reading →

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Dada Besmirched

Posted on February 4, 2021 by JMN

It is radical in its inanity, a legislative chamber designed by dadaists. No, Ezra Klein! Comparing the U.S. Senate to a Dada design sullies Dada and its legacy. There’s a better comparison elsewhere in Klein’s essay: In 2012, Steven Teles, … Continue reading →

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‘Certitudes’

Posted on January 31, 2021 by JMN

This is the Cubist revolution: Here, for the first time in Western art since the Renaissance, the world as we see it no longer has primacy. The picture is no longer an act of perception. It’s an act of imagination, … Continue reading →

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