Monthly Archives: December 2017

The undeniably progressive politics of Christmas

At this Christmas time, I’m reprinting a column from the past because it seems even more pertinent now than five years ago when it first appeared: The Politics of Christmas Christmas has the reputation of being apolitical, above the fray. But in fact it wears its politics on its (fur trimmed red) sleeve. Dickens’ beloved […]

December 26, 2017 – 3:33 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

A DOW FOR THE REST OF US

It’s the worst of tax bills, it’s the best of tax bills. According to polls, most Americans are not buying the Republican claims that the bill is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But how will we know? Given the wildly conflicting claims, there is more need than ever for an index which will tell […]

December 21, 2017 – 2:04 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The status of gratefulness in the renewed Cold War

I suppose we should be feeling grateful this Thanksgiving for having survived so far the nuclear whims of the president. In recent decades, as Cold War nuclear war fears have receded, we have mainly had domesticated nukes such as our own Pilgrim plant to worry about. Now once again nuclear war is an entree on […]

December 16, 2017 – 12:26 pm | By Brent | Posted in Columns | Tagged , | Comments (0)

FRANKEN: IT WILL BE BETTER FOR WOMEN IF HE STAYS IN PUBLIC LIFE

The forced resignation of Al Franken doesn’t make very much sense for anybody except those who seek the reversal of women’s progress. OK, if a progressive woman is appointed in his place, one that stands a good chance of getting re-elected, that might be a reasonable trade-off. Certainly Franken’s thoughtless, unwelcome advances need to be […]

December 9, 2017 – 6:39 pm | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Roger Goodell signs on for another five years at $40 million a year.

Can someone explain why the NFL needs to pay him all that money? It’s not as if he were a worldclass athlete indispensable to fan pleasure. He doesn’t even seem to have been doing such a terrific job of presiding over the inherent contradictions of this inherently violent sport (let alone Inflategate). But even if […]

December 7, 2017 – 10:54 am | By Brent | Posted in Posts | Tagged , | Comments (0)