Editorials

533 results
Page 35
Eichmann in Nazi regalia: What to do with the world's most loathsome criminal?

The Eichmann verdict: Arendt's vs. mine

Hannah Arendt's verdict vs. mine: What Eichmann's judges should have said

The final paragraph of Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem— in which she suggests what the judges should have told a Nazi war criminal— is widely acclaimed as brilliant but always struck me as intellectually flimsy. So what should the judges have said? I thought you'd never ask.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 7 minute read
Why did Washington's brilliant cabinet members defer to his leadership?

What George Washington could teach Egyptians

Where are you, George Washington, now that Egypt needs you?

George Washington hungered for respect rather than power. As a result, he perfected the art of gaining power by giving it away. Egypt's generals and their foes in the Muslim Brotherhood could use someone like him right now.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 6 minute read
Zimmerman on trial: Why carry a gun?

The Zimmerman trial and the Pritzker Prize

Are gated communities really safe? Is the Pritzker Prize worth the fuss?

Two questions about the George Zimmerman murder case, plus one question about the Pritzker Prize and sexism in architecture.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 4 minute read
Czyżewska: 'Bad luck,' or something else?

The "tragedy' of a Polish actress

An actress who couldn't handle freedom

Elzbieta Czyżewska was a widely acclaimed Polish actress in the '60s, but her career and her life fell apart after she moved to the U.S. Freedom, it seems was her undoing. But whose fault is that?
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 5 minute read
Police Commissioner Rizzo with cummerbund and nightstick, 1969: Nasty times.

Sam Katz films the Rizzo years

Still fighting about Rizzo

The fourth installment of Sam Katz's Philadelphia history documentary takes us back to the nasty and divisive Rizzo years of the 1970s. What's lacking is a sense of perspective and context. Three separate historical/journalistic problems are to blame.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 6 minute read
Columbus retuns to Isabella and Ferdinand, 1493: Good timin'.

When pop music confronted history

Don't know much about history: The accidental wisdom of pop songs

From Noel Coward to Jimmy Jones, history was once a major staple of popular songs for adolescents like me, who enjoyed ridiculing the material that our teachers crammed down our throats. Nowadays, pop songs are political rather than historical.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 4 minute read
A free mind (with a little help from steamy novels).

Andrew Greeley, latter-day Erasmus

He did it his way

Like Erasmus of Rotterdam before him, the combative Catholic priest Andrew Greeley steadfastly refused to align himself with any institution or philosophy. How did he manage to survive and even flourish?
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 4 minute read
Why are these girls smiling? Because their club took decisive action.

Crisis at the Swim Club

Scourge of the dorks

Do you understand the difference between a jock, a geek and a dork? Your future membership at Center City's popular Pine Street Swim Club may depend on it.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 4 minute read
What was Riccardo Muti's college major?

To follow your dream or play it safe?

We're Number Ten! (and other practical tips for dreamers)

When a teenager dreams of becoming a famous performer, how should a parent respond? Maybe that's the wrong question.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 5 minute read
Freedom Rider Lewis and Klansman Wilson: What brought them together?

Doctors vs. lawyers

Doctors and lawyers: Two trains running (in opposite directions)

Two centuries ago, doctors were bleeding their patients while lawyers were drafting the Constitution. Today, doctors stand on the cusp of eliminating disease altogether while lawyers are still stuck in the 18th Century. What happened?
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Editorials 7 minute read