The Illinois primary is now behind us, but I find myself thinking about the upcoming June primary in Maine. Here’s why. Elections are about choices. Still, one question that nagged me as I watched some of the more interesting primary races Tuesday night was whether the results were truly reflective of voter choices. In the Read More …
Category: Blog
These are random thoughts about topics that interest me — including books, rock and roll, philosophy, culture and daily life. I update it whenever the mood strikes me, shooting for at least once a week but often more frequently than that. I welcome your comments on anything I may discuss here and, when appropriate, will reply as promptly as possible.
Deceptive political ads grow because voters let them
It’s not clear who in the political process should feel more ashamed, the candidates who attempt to persuade voters with deceptive campaign mailers and television advertising or the people who make voting decisions based on them. As a news person who talks to, respects and likes many politicians, it is a point of some frustration Read More …
In a week of controversy, how endorsements are made
The sensational news of the week regarding Daily Herald endorsements involved one we took back, our decision to rescind our endorsement of Burt Minor in the Republican primary for the Illinois House in the 42nd District. That decision was the product of extensive interviews, research and debate by our Editorial Board. We explained our reasoning Read More …
Remember this about the news: It changes
Some random thoughts on timely news-related topics: It is surely of questionable value to assign much credit or blame to a political figure based on ephemeral economic conditions. For me, the standard for this axiom is a quote from then-Gov. George Ryan that I recall but have not been able to track down nearly 18 Read More …
The suburban angle on silverfin
The status of Lake Michigan is not a peculiarly suburban story, but with dozens of suburban communities relying on the lake for drinking water, the predictions of a coming global water shortage crisis (referenced in the Daily Herald as far back as our 2006 series “The Oil of the 21st Century”) and the prospects for Read More …
Politics, profanity and the daily news
Let’s be clear. Donald Trump is not the first U.S. president to give responsible public media fits trying to figure out how to provide accurate quotations or descriptions within the context of a publication intended for the entire family. Bill Clinton’s intern shenanigans and Richard Nixon’s White House tapes — whose published form fixed the Read More …
Sex, violence and what really gets readers’ attention
There is an axiom regarding the newspaper business that says sensational news and sensational headlines attract newspaper readership. Like most axioms, there is some truth to this. In the age of the internet and the tyranny of the mouse click, the allure of the dramatic story cannot be discounted. But it can be overestimated. We Read More …
Emphasis on ‘productive’ in this shared sense of community
We most often use the word community in a geographic context, identifying the sense of shared identity that comes from living in a particular town or region. But we also know that the term has other dimensions, an important one being to refer to groups of people with a particular shared interest. Facebook and other Read More …
Review of Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne
I’ve read a fair amount about this period in American history, but no work has brought it all together in the way that S.C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon did. It is somewhat tempting to view this as a Plains Indians version of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, but the book is so Read More …
Review of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ by J.D. Vance
As usual, I’m a couple of years behind in getting to this book, which some people seem to view as some sort of cultural touchstone. To the degree that it portrays a family living in a kind of cultural backwater – both geographically and symbolically – Hillbilly Elegy is interesting enough. Vance’s description of his Read More …