Editorials
521 results
Page 27
Who is a success? Who is a failure?
When you get to Heaven....
Was Marlon Brando a success or a failure? How about Winston Churchill or Joe Paterno? Sometimes a single deed can salvage a reputation — or destroy it.
Editorials
5 minute read
Uses and abuses of humor
Two Muslims walk into a bar…
I would defend to the death Charlie Hebdo's right to free expression. But let’s be clear about what we’re defending here. Poking fun at French Muslims, arguably France’s most despised and alienated minority, is not the stuff of Voltaire — more like Rush Limbaugh.
Editorials
5 minute read
‘Charlie Hebdo,’ the terrorists, and us
We'll show them!
Terrorists seem forever preoccupied with sending messages or teaching somebody a lesson. But violence rarely seems to convey the intended message. How, precisely, does their strategy differ from governments like ours?
Editorials
6 minute read
News stories I’d like to see
And now for something different
Wouldn’t it be nice if, once in a while, a news story about Dick Cheney, Vladimir Putin, or the Philadelphia Eagles surprised you?
Editorials
4 minute read
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Campus rape and ‘Rolling Stone’
The reporter and the rape victim
A journalist’s duty is to look beyond questions of legal guilt or innocence to ask, “What really happened here?” A rape victim’s testimony might not stand up in court, but if she is the victim, how can she be ignored?
Editorials
6 minute read
‘Chinatown’: Bill Cosby’s distant mirror
Bill Cosby, meet Noah Cross
How could major league journalists swallow the narrative spun by Bill Cosby, his lawyers, and his PR handlers? You may find the answer not in journalism but in art — specifically, in Roman Polanski’s classic 1974 film Chinatown.
Editorials
5 minute read
My favorite rhymes
Move over, Taylor Swift
Banish Taylor Swift from your mind and return with me now to the days when songwriters prided themselves on their skill at devising inventive rhymes for seemingly unrhymable words.
Editorials
4 minute read
The decline of Bill Cosby
‘Your job is to make Mr. Cosby look good’
Are you astonished that Bill Cosby’s carefully controlled personal narrative doesn’t jibe with the real, fallible human Bill Cosby? The comedian/producer has been dropping hints to that effect throughout his career.
Editorials
4 minute read
Language and politics
Corbett’s ‘little secret’ (and other linguistic crimes)
Why was the governor’s wife dragged into his campaign at the last minute? Ask George Orwell.
Editorials
4 minute read
The Inquirer's non-endorsement
The Inquirer cops out
Instead of endorsing a candidate for governor, the Inquirer opts to summarize the candidates’ stands on critical issues. Is this a newspaper or the League of Women Voters?
Editorials
3 minute read