Shakespeare and Henry James showed up in commentary on this weeks events: the impending government shutdown and the required gathering of 800 military leaders.
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Monthly Archives: September 2025
Dems Channel Inner Lady Macbeth
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Government shutdown, Henry James, Macbeth, Pete Hegseth, Turn of the Screw, U.S. military, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Social Media’s Siren Call
Chris Hayes’s “Sirens’ Call” draws on a Homeric allusion as it warns us against being devoured by social media.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Chris Hayes, Homer, Internet, Odyssey, Sirens' Call, social media Comments closed
DoJ’s Dickensian Assault on Justice
The Justice Department’s case against Comey brings to mind the Jarndyce case in “Bleak House.” Both have the effect of sapping time, money, energy and the will to live.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Bleak House, Charles Dickens, Department of Justice, Donald Trump, frivolous lawsuits, James Comey Comments closed
MAGA’s Heretical Take on Jesus
Nicaraguan poet-priest Cardenal, embracing liberation theology, alludes to the Gospels in his poetry.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Unrighteous Mammon", Ernesto Cardenal, liberation theology, MAGA Christianity Comments closed
My Life in Lit – Segregation
In which I recount growing up in segregated Tennessee and recount the books that helped me cope.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Harper Lee, Huckleberry Finn, integration, Mark Twain, May Justus, New Boy in School, racism, segregation, To Kill a Mockingbird Comments closed
Read for Fun, Not for the Test
Constant testing is sapping the joy out of reading. It’s also counterproductive as readers learn the most when they find reading fun.
A Poem Condemning Isolationism
In “There Are No Islands Anymore,” Edna St. Vincent Millay makes a powerful case against isolationism. It’s only too relevant today.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "There Are No Islands Anymore", Edna St. Vincent Millay, isolationism, Ukraine Comments closed
La Rochefoucauld & GOP Hypocrisy
To understand MAGA following the Kirk shooting, look to the maxims of La Rochefoucauld.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Charlie Kirk, François de La Rochefoucauld, Hypocrisy, MAGA, Maxims Comments closed
Comics Play Cheshire Cat to DJT’s Queen
Trump is sounding increasingly like Carroll’s Queen of Hearts, ordering executions when often fail to materialize.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Alice in Wonderland, catire, Donald Trump, Jimmy Kimmel, Justice, Lewis Carroll, Pamela Bondi, Stephen Colbert, Through the Looking Glass, Tom Sullivan Comments closed