For Karl Jaspers, he was “the greatest German of our age.” Yet he died in 1920, at the age of 56, at the height of his prominence and of his…
I too lived—Brooklyn, of ample hills, was mine; I too walk’d the streets of Manhattan Island, and bathed in the waters around it; I too felt the curious abrupt questionings…
Die Politik bedeutet ein starkes langsames Bohren von harten Brettern mit Leidenschaft und Augenmaß zugleich. Es ist ja durchaus richtig, und alle geschichtliche Erfahrung bestätigt es, daß man das Mögliche…
Should novelists respond to their critics? That was the question of a trio of posts from a few weeks back under the title, “An Egg in Return” (1, 2, 3).…
Back in November, I decided to take a look at the investigation that Congress had demanded be undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General (DHS IG) looking into…
“Over the past two months, Obama has in slow stages backed away from his 20-year association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, first criticizing some of his statements but clinging to…
For anyone tracking the infamous Michelle Obama/whitey videotape, check out the latest from David Weigel of Reason, who has now completely exposed Larry Johnson: In his peddling of this story,…
From the Miami Herald: John McCain will venture into the Everglades for the first time as a presidential candidate Friday, an obligatory rite of passage for politicians shoring up their…
Referring to Obama’s speech yesterday to AIPAC, reader Ed Moloney comments by email: “Not only a cynical shift but perhaps one of the fastest flip-flops in presidential campaign history.” Moloney…
Well, Barack Obama achieved his goal with his speech today to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC): he has officially been unendorsed by Hamas. “I will bring to the…
Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman finds himself in a curious position. He was tried, convicted and sentenced on corruption charges brought by a U.S. Attorney whose husband happened to be…
Upon pulling a paperback copy of Ralph Ellison’s Juneteenth off one of my shelves the other day, a friend expressed frustration with its cover. Not its design (a perfectly attractive…
Larry Johnson, the man who has been pushing the story of a mysterious tape that supposedly features Michelle Obama ranting about “whitey” with Louis Farrakhan, formerly worked for the CIA…
Scott McClellan published a memoir about his stint as President George W. Bush‘s press secretary from July 2003 to April 2006. In the book, McClellan says that he does not…
The Bush Justice Department’s efforts to prosecute high-profile Michigan lawyer Geoffrey Fieger ended today when the jury returned a verdict of acquittal on all counts following a twenty-day trial. Fieger…
At dawn on April 23, 1899, Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg. One hundred years later, The Nabokovian, the twice-yearly publication of the International Vladimir Nabokov Society, conducted…
The rumor sweeping the Internet, which I’m sure you’ve heard by now, is that there’s an explosive tape of Michelle Obama ranting about “whitey.” The rumor is being spread most…
Jeff Sharlet is a contributing editor of Harper’s Magazine. His first story for the magazine, “Jesus Plus Nothing,” appeared in March 2003, and five years later it has grown into…
From the Miami Herald: A Maryland prosthetics company pushing a new federal bill that would broaden insurance coverage for its products — and boost its bottom line — has enlisted…
For seven years Karl Rove was the nation’s ultimate political puppetmaster, pulling the strings of the great apparatus of state. He sallied forth from that pinnacle of power to offer…