BARONESS ORCZY AND EARLY TV PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, WE LEARNED how the first superhero novel transformed from rejection status to best seller by way of its stage play counterpart. Pimpernel cinema followed—indeed, in multiple … Continue reading
THE BARONESS ORCZY AND EARLY TV PART 1
“THEY SEEK HIM HERE, THEY SEEK HIM THERE/ Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.” So it was said of the Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel. I sought him recently—with double success—in recent … Continue reading
“THE UNFINISHED REVOLUTION”—THE MORAL FOUNDATION
ELAINE PAGELS CONTRIBUTES AN ESSAY “The Moral Foundation of America” to “The Unfinished Revolution,” The Atlantic, November 2025. Think of this as another civics lesson we’ve seemingly forgotten. Elaine Pagels writes, … Continue reading
A NECESSARY, SIGNIFICANT, OCCASIONALLY JOYFUL “NO KINGS”
ON OCTOBER 18, 2025, 7 MILLION AMERICANS protested Trump 2.0’s autocracy. Yesterday, we concentrated on the absurdities of a government official saying “Who cares?,” of Trump himself posting a scatological … Continue reading
LET’S CELEBRATE “NO KINGS”—BUT AVOID THE 5 WHEN NECESSARY
THIS PAST WEEKEND EXHIBITED the legitimacy of the “No Kings” contingent, the puerility of Donald J. Trump, and the inanity of his cohorts. Let’s take these in reverse order. Indeed, … Continue reading
THE ATLANTIC’S UNFINISHED REVOLUTION PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE FOCUSED ON THE COVER of The Atlantic’s “Unfinished Revolution.” Today in Part 2, we continue with this magazine’s much appreciated (and much needed) civics lessons. Mad King George. … Continue reading
THE ATLANTIC’S UNFINISHED REVOLUTION PART 1
IF EVER OUR COUNTRY NEEDED LESSONS IN CIVICS, it’s as we approach its 250th anniversary. Authoritarian Trump, retro-Jim-Crow States, and an illbalanced Supreme Court are working hard to gerrymander the … Continue reading
DEMOCRACIES—MEASURING RISK
“WHY DEMOCRACIES DIE AND WHAT TO DO NEXT” is the thought-provoking title of Rachel Beatty Riedl’s review in AAAS Science, September 25, 2025, of Susan C. Stokes’ book The Backsliders. … Continue reading
CELEBRATING BRUCE MCCALL
I THANK ANDY BOROWITZ FOR “Another Reason to Love Canada,” The Borowitz Report, October 8, 2025: “Let’s celebrate a Canadian who, fortunately for us, decided to move here. Bruce McCall … Continue reading
ON TEACHING
STEPHANIE FRIEDMAN OFFERS A TANTALIZING TITLE “ ‘Born to Make a Difference’: The Best Teachers Share These 4 Traits,” Nice News, October 4, 2025. She begins her tale, “Dig deep … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 