Essays
1090 results
Page 65
Romney and the missing Mormon issue
The silence of the liberals (evangelicals too): Can we talk about Romney's religion?
The elephant in the room— Mitt Romney's Mormonism— is being ignored in the current Presidential campaign by political liberals and religious conservatives alike, for very different reasons. Why is it acceptable to ask Catholic candidates about their religious values but not a Mormon?
Essays
7 minute read
Farewell, old Newsweek
When newsmags ruled the world: The Newsweek I remember
I don't know whether print is dead. I just know the famous magazine that informed my world as a kid, and then gave me a wondrous break into big-time journalism, is now but a digital shadow.
Essays
4 minute read
Terry Williams, Part III: A Life in the balance
The Terry Williams case, Part III: The 'rational' machinery of death
Terry Williams ducked his date with death on October 3, but his life continues to hang in the balance as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court considers whether to uphold or reject his death sentence for the murder of one of the men who raped him as a teenager. Will justice finally be done in this case? And what would real justice be?
Essays
7 minute read
My life as a pornographer: A memoir
‘Think of it as a public service,' or: My life as a pornographer
It was the heyday of Lolita and Naked Lunch. Adult bookstores abounded on every downtown block. I was an aspiring writer. When my pornographer buddy enlisted my help, how could I refuse?
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An antidote for mass murder
To prevent mass murders, ask better questions
Can potential mass murderers be spotted in advance? Maybe. But the more important question is: Why are so many American kids growing up angry, antisocial and withdrawn? And we already possess the tools to cope with that problem.
Essays
4 minute read
Writers and copyright on the Internet
Writers are people, too, my friend: The case against Internet pirates
“Information wants to be free,” say Internet pirates. Their refusal to compensate writers (like me) for their work reflects a low opinion of writers and of information, too.
Essays
5 minute read
Mourning Campbell's Soup
There goes my childhood, or: Farewell, Campbell's Soup
People don't buy canned soup the way they used to, say the folks at Campbell's. It's neither gourmet nor heart-healthy nor organic; it's inedibly salty; and it can't be microwaved. But can haute cuisine replace the memory of a steaming bowl of hot goopy tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich on white bread?
Essays
4 minute read
Terry Williams case: Score one for justice
The condemned man and his prosecutors
In the latest installment of the Terry Williams murder case, Philadelphia Judge Teresa Sarmina delivered a scathing rebuke to the district attorney's office for concealing evidence that could have spared a man from death row. But District Attorney Seth Williams continues to press for the execution to proceed, thereby aligning himself with the city's often-sordid capital jurisprudence of the 1980s.
Essays
9 minute read
On spotting homosexuals
You're gay? How could I tell?
When gays come out of the closet, I'm never shocked, because I'm endowed with terrific gaydar— the ability to recognize homosexuals. Does this gift mean I might be a latent lesbian myself?
Essays
5 minute read
Remembrance of a first love
My kindergarten romance that haunts me to this day
Like most adults, I've had my share of encounters with death. But nothing haunts me quite like the senseless loss of my first childhood love, perhaps because the emotions I felt then were so genuine.
Essays
4 minute read