Just when you think American politics couldn’t possibly get any more bizarre, it happens. I am not adding my two cents on what happened with the FBI at Mar-A-Lago. But I do recommend reading two accounts that are better informed than anything I could say. Journalist and Rolling Stone contributing editor Matt Taibi says Welcome to the Third World, while N.S. Lyons at The Upheaval takes a somewhat larger view and says, “It’s not hypocrisy, you’re just powerless.”
David Murray, editor of Vital Speeches of the Day, dug out a gem from the archives. It’s a speech by an advertising executive, talking about the attitudes of young job seekers coming into the workforce, as in, “What can you do for me?” The speech was given in – 1962.
Right before the recent Missouri primary, I checked the Voter’s Guide, published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and I noticed that, for a number of Republican candidates in a variety of races, there was this: “Information not received at press time.” Danielle Kurtsleben, a reporter at NPR, was covering the primary in Wisconsin, and she discovered the same thing: Republican candidates wouldn’t talk to her or respond to emails or phone calls. She asked around and learned this wasn’t limited to Wisconsin. My only comment: why was the reporter so surprised?
More Good Reads
Ukraine
The documents the Russians are leaving behind – Lauren Wolfe at Chills.
"As Russians approach his town, 'the cat must still be fed'" – Gregory Warner at NPR.
When Stories Aren’t Enough: How Do You Write About the War in Ukraine? – Katya Cengel at Literary Hub.
Russia claims Ukraine used US arms to kill jailed POWs. Evidence tells a different story – CNN.
Faith
True Life: I’m a Father in a Blended Family – Allen Reynolds at Urban Faith.
Hating the Culture Is Not a Strategy: Revulsion against the elites does not a Christian church build – Samuel James at Digital Liturgies.
News Media
The Decline and Fall of Newspapers – Charles Lipson at Real Clear Politics.
Man or Machine: Many Americans are unaware of the tole AI plays in the news they consume – University of Missouri.
Unabridged: Contrasting reactions to George Soros’ column in The Wall Street Journal to Tom Cotton’s in The New York Times – Heather Mac Donald at CityJournal.
Life and Culture
The West needs to grow up – Paul Kingsnorth at UnHerd.
Shame and Exceptionalism: Livy’s Subversive History for Liberty – Paul Krause at Front Porch Republic.
The great unrest: How 2020 changed the economy in ways we can’t understand yet – Matt Rosoff at CNBC.
Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are – David McCullough at Imprimis (April 2005).
Writing and Literature
The Last Battle: The End of Narnia’s Beginning – Anthony Pagliarini at Church Life Journal.
The Five Great Novels of Dashiell Hammett – Larry Beinhart at CrimeReads.
When Should I write? Brief Reflections on the Relationship Between Writing and Expertise – Ronni Kurtz at Mere Orthodoxy.
Poetry
On Quarantine Dreams – Karen An-hwei Lee at Kingdom Poets (D.S. Martin).
Niche – Sonja Benskin Mesher.
The Mirage – Charles Simic at Literary Hub.
Be Unto Me – Brian and Katie Torwalt
Painting: The Convalescent, oil on canvas (1918-1919) by Gwen John (1876-1939).
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