Old School Halloween Films

 

The Man

 

No Endorsement at The Free Press

 Bari Weiss notes the viewpoint diversity in their newsroom. an excerpt:

The staff of The Free Press is split almost exactly three ways in this election: between Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, and, well, neither (abstaining, writing in their preferred candidate, or remaining undecided). Yes, there are still undecideds! In other words, our editorial staff is mixed. Just like the country we write about. 

Happy Halloween!

 

[Photo by Todd Cravens at Unsplash]

For All "Slow Horses" Fans: Good News!

 Mick Herron's next Slow Horses novel - "Clown Town" - is scheduled for publication in August 2025.

On My List

 

Disasters and Their Media Coverage

 Commentary magazine: "The Lessons of Disaster" by James B. Meigs. An excerpt:

My Katrina experience taught me to be suspicious of easy narratives about disasters. Major catastrophes—whether natural or man-made—are complex, multifarious events. They contain contradictions: Heroism and incompetence exist side by side; black-and-white attributions of blame are generally wrong. Even the richest, most disciplined societies are never fully prepared for disasters. (Witness the entirely preventable meltdowns at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant following the 2011 tsunami.) Disasters are, by definition, events that exceed our imaginations and overwhelm our preparations.

One of the Most Fascinating Presidents

 

First Paragraph

Although only noon, the clouds which scudded busily above Portsmouth harbour made it seem closer to evening. For several days a stiff easterly wind had turned the crowded anchorage into angry criss-crossing patterns of whitecaps, and an attendant drizzle gave each buffeted ship and the stout walls of the harbour defences a glistening, metallic sheen.

- From The Complete Midshipman Bolitho by Alexander Kent 

Our Times

Asked whether she could provide a definition of the word “woman,” Ketanji Brown Jackson, Supreme Court nominee, magna cum laude at Harvard and graduate of Harvard Law, seemed perplexed: “I’m not a biologist,” she observed. Yet we are told by Jeremi Carswell, a specialist in the field, that children know perfectly well which of many genders they wish to grow up to be “from the moment that they have any ability to express themselves.”

- Martin Gurri, "The Endarkenment" in City Journal, Autumn 2024 [Unfortunately, that article is behind a paywall. I highly recommend City Journal. Articles in the current issue include:

• "The Plot to Manage Democracy" by Jacob Siegel
• "The Endarkenment" by Martin Gurri
• "Migrant Crime, Youth Crime, and Prisons" by Steven Malanga, Hannah E. Meyers, and Charles Fain Lehman
• "Symposium: The Mental Health Crisis" with Stephen Eide, Carolyn D. Gorman, John Hirschauer, Freddie deBoer, and more
• "Europe's Music Meritocracy" by Heather Mac Donald