A year ago, during the wake of the financial crisis, it was fashionable to lambaste the greedy. Today, however, the moral pendulum has swung the other way. With the U.S. still sluggish in its recovery, commentators point towards to a new culprit: the global saving class, from the likes of Germany, Japan and China. Their … Read more
In an interview with Stephen Colbert about her upcoming book, The History of White People, Princeton University History Professor Nell Irvin Painter was asked, “So, I don’t see race; are you white?” To which Painter replied, sarcastically, “Well, I have a PhD. Does that make me white?” This quote suggests a different way of thinking about the … Read more
In their exchanges, both Pete and Sam seem to accept the rather odd idea that affirmative action exists primarily to benefit the poor. For example, Sam writes that: Peter’s most compelling argument is that affirmative action “typically benefits only middle- and upper-class minority students”—that is, students who probably aren’t nearly as vulnerable to segregation, foreclosure, unemployment, … Read more
Sam Barr has responded to my column in last Wednesday’s Crimson with an analysis that ultimately comes out in favor of race-based affirmative action. While I thank Sam for his thoughtful comments on the article, I would like to reply to some of his criticisms and clarify certain aspects of my argument, which suggested that … Read more
Peter Bozzo has posted a very thorough reply to my reply to his column which argued that we should replace race-based affirmative action with class-based affirmative action. (Got that?) Peter cites three studies, but only one of them seems to have analyzed the socioeconomic backgrounds of African-American college students, as opposed to the socioeconomic backgrounds … Read more
Jonathan Allen has a long piece on Politico that is one long excoriation of immature liberals who won’t grow up and let the Obama-orchestrated tax deal go through. This piece represents everything that is wrong with Politico: It is filled with simple-minded analysis of the personalities and psychologies of politicians, based on nothing but the … Read more
One point that stands out to me about the failure to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is the irrelevance of public opinion on this issue. Polls have consistently shown that DADT is extremely unpopular—clear majorities of the American people support repeal. Since DADT was introduced in 1993, it has become consistently more unpopular. Now, 57 … Read more
Peter Bozzo writes in today’s Crimson in favor of switching from race-based to class-based affirmative action. He makes a very strong case, but I think he ultimately goes wrong. First, his interpretation of Brown v. Board as a decision rooted in the principle of color-blindness is implausible to me. The heart of the ruling was … Read more
Work: “The Big Red Son” by David Foster Wallace Intro: Wallace goes slumming it with porn stars at the 1998 Adult Video Awards ceremony. Here he describes the pornography of Las Vegas. As you know if you’ve seen Casino, Showgirls, Bugsy, etc., there are really three Las Vegases. Binion’s, where the World Series of Poker is … Read more
The inevitably entertaining Lewis Black came to Kirkland House yesterday to discuss his love of theater, his flirting with the poverty line, and his opinion on anything else. With a message that has to be Black’s definition of inspiring, he had this piece of advice for current students: “If there was ever a better time … Read more