The votes in Kentucky and Oregon are the last Democratic contests scheduled Read More
Three-quarters of the votes in Kentucky's 3rd District are now in, and Republican incumbent Anne Northup still trails Democrat John Yarmuth by three points. Another bad, bad sign for the GOP's prospects nationally. -- Steve Kornacki
From: Tom Scocca To: Choire Sicha Subject: Um... From the NYT Mag ARTICLE with those pics: "When the mayor came for a post-Katrina visit, Ranatza had the students draw their wishes for the city. They do not lack for colored crayons, yet they rendered New Orleans in sepulchral black and white." From: Choire Sicha To: Read More
Sometime before the Fourth of July, the Senate will vote on a constitutional amendment to prohibit the physical desecration of the American flag. The House of Representatives already has passed the same legislation by the required two-thirds margin, and enough state legislatures would vote for the amendment to assure its approval. So the final bulwark Read More
When the President gave his little immigration speech, he wanted his listeners to be clear on one point: Americans speak English, and if you don’t speak English, you aren’t an American. “I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should … learn English,” he said and then, in Read More
We consume. We rarely think of how food or energy is created or how it gets to where we purchase it. We may see a truck, but we rarely think about large ships or the trains that deliver America’s new old favorite energy “alternative”—coal. I remember the C.B. craze and trucker-oriented movies and television shows Read More
We've written a fair amount here about whether this type of thing (from the Lexington Herald-Leader) works: Urban County Councilman Bill Farmer Jr. went on the attack in a TV commercial with partisan overtones. It compares corporate attorney Jim Newberry to Democratic U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton. In the 30-second ad, airing on all three major Read More
Before coming to my tale of two musicals, there’s something I must tell you:
The problem with the film reviewers who’ve found the remarkable documentary Shakespeare Behind Bars only so-so is that they’re seeing it purely as a movie. If only they could see it from a theater perspective, they would be raving about Read More
William F. Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, was winding up an eight-month business trip to Louisville, Ky., when he leaped into New York’s political fray last summer. For months, Mr. Weld had flirted with the idea of a 2006 gubernatorial run, and by Aug. 18 he’d made up his mind. He spoke with The Read More
"Imagine my surprise the other day," said an op-ed by Army reserve officer Phillip Carter in yesterday's New York Times, "when I received orders to report to Fort Campbell, Ky., next Sunday." Apparently, someone did imagine Carter's surprise. Today brings a follow-up Editors' Note: "The Op-Ed page in some copies of Wednesday's newspaper carried Read More
Another December, another Alvin Ailey season. How many ways can a guy find to say the same thing yet another time: terrific dancing, stunted repertory. The success of the Ailey company is one of the great ongoing stories in American dance. What explains it? A major part of the answer certainly lies in the company's Read More
A couple of weeks ago in this space, the Reverend Brian
Jordan suggested that religious organizations pause for a moment's reflection before signing on to President Bush's faith-based initiative. Father Jordan, who works with poor immigrants at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on West 32nd Street, wondered if taking government money for the provision Read MoreI don't want to give the wrong impression: My husband works
hard. But his idea of a vacation is snoozing on the sofa. His idea of travel is walking four blocks to a coffee shop for breakfast. He's the only person I know who wasn't the least bit captivated by the roughing-it ordeal of Cast Away Read MoreIn a sure sign that midlife crisis is about to put its sweaty, trembling hand on my once-youthful shoulder, I have reintroduced myself, quite unexpectedly, to a great passion of my 20's-golf. That this has occurred during a year in which the exploits of a golfer of some ability, a man by the name of Read More
New Yorkers may take a justifiable pride in knowing that throughout
American history their state legislature is second to none in the corruption department. (Brains is another matter.) When it comes to venality, the Empire State has no reason to hang its head when places like Louisiana, California, Illinois and Arkansas are mentioned. Matched dollar for Read More