Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
By now you’ve seen the news and shaken your damn head over the idiocy: ESPN switched broadcaster Robert Lee (this guy) off of calling the University of Virginia’s home opener, because the violent white supremacy rally in Charlottesville earlier this month was spurred by threats to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee (this guy)….
Yesterday, Joss Whedon’s ex-wife, Kai Cole, wrote a gutting letter alleging that Whedon spent two decades lying to her about multiple affairs and using his self-purported feminism as a shield against criticism and scrutiny. Like many women I’ve spoken to, I was sad, but not shocked—maybe a little embarrassed I hadn’t looked more closely at…
As Confederate statues come down across the American South, there is a question of what to do with them once they’ve fallen. Should these metal and stone colossuses be melted down and broken up? Discarded? Should the wishes of those who, like President Trump, see sentimental and historical value in the statues, be respected? And…
I don’t think I’m alone in saying that Paul Graham used to be one of my heroes. My memories of my first steps into the world of software development are no longer crisp. The texture of it, the day-to-day, the mechanisms by which my skills solidified —that’s all faded. Mostly what I remember is the…
Photo: AP Oh my god, he really did it. President Trump really did the one thing you’re not supposed to do during a solar eclipse. According to Wall Street Journal reporter Ted Mann, an unidentified aide even shouted “don’t look” as the president turned to point and look at the big, dumb Sun without eye…
Photo: Getty Congratulations to those of you who used proper solar eclipse glasses and witnessed the phenomenon without permanently damaging your vision. Good job! But now you’re probably wondering what to do with those flimsy pieces of cardboard and black polymer that were basically priceless just hours ago. Fortunately, Astronomers Without Borders has offered to…
This story is a collaboration between New York and ProPublica, an independent nonprofit newsroom. In mid-May, Steve Preston, who served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the final two years of the George W. Bush administration, organized a dinner at the Metropolitan Club in Washington, D.C., for the new chief of that…
08/17/2017 11:11 am ET Updated 1 day ago Americans have probably had about enough of Confederate monuments this week, but the dual equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson whisked away from its pedestal Wednesday morning in Baltimore is worth examining, especially in light of President Trump’s continued fixation on the issue….
White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the “alt-right” clash with counter-protesters as they enter Emancipation Park on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images On Tuesday, after a weekend that included a white supremacist mowing down and killing a peaceful counter-protester in Charlottesville and Nazis marching on the University of Virginia with torches, the president…
Several hundred white nationalists and white supremacists carrying torches march in a parade at the University of Virginia. (Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post) Jews and non-Jews are drawn to debates about whether Jews are white. It’s the sort of question that captivates academics and activists, roping in everyone from Israeli “Wonder Woman” actress Gal…