Category Archives: Commentary

Opinion or analysis concerning whatever’s on my mind.

A Whiff of Wittgenstein

Posted on February 25, 2021 by JMN

“For a healthy politics to flourish it needs reference points outside itself — reference points of truth and a conception of the common good… When everything becomes political, that is the end of politics.” Making everything politics “totally distorts your … Continue reading →

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Au Revoir, Dr. Ferlinghetti

Posted on February 24, 2021 by JMN

“In some ways what I really did was mind the store,” he told The Guardian in 2006. “When I arrived in San Francisco in 1951 I was wearing a beret. If anything I was the last of the bohemians rather … Continue reading →

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Cambiando la perspectiva.

Posted on February 23, 2021 by JMN

Imaginando. Cambiando la perspectiva. A mi colega que estudia español en Gran Bretaña: te va a gustar esta foto de iglesia con su ángulo dinámico.

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Fossilism Flatulence

Posted on February 22, 2021 by JMN

The Great Texas Freeze (February 14-20, 2021) triggered a noisome toxic fart from the crippled state’s fossil gut. The five largest refiners emitted nearly 337,000lb of pollutants, including benzene, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide, according to preliminary data … Continue reading →

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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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