Current Affairs

It is a common practice in editorials to overstate one's case and ignore any evidence to the contrary. Heaven knows I've engaged in this "preaching to the choir" thundering from time to time. But leave it to The New York Times to push the tactic as far as it can go:

Poor Nero. His name is now synonymous with people who occupy themselves with amusements while ignoring the crisis around them. But he allegedly "fiddled while Rome burned" in AD 64, and there was no such instrument as the fiddle until at least the 16th century:

Happy Father's Day a l early. Here are some recipes you might want to try for the big cookout (the blackberry barbecued ribs are intriguing). And below is a Father's Day column about "rampant nowism" I wrote back in 1991. I used a shortened and modified version for Saturday's editorial page, but I think the long version holds up pretty well 19 years later.

The dunderheads in the education profession apparently feel they haven't caused enough damage. Now they want to do away with best friends:

But increasingly, some educators and other professionals who work with children are asking a question that might surprise their parents: Should a child really have a best friend?

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Eighty percent of success, Woody Allen said, is just showing up. William Boeckmann seems destined for a successful life:

Boeckmann, 19, is a 2010 graduate of Homestead High School. In his 13 years of education, Boeckmann has achieved a rare accomplishment: He never missed a day of school.

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Earlier this week, a letter writer chided us for a perceived slight of the president:

The May 29 editorial titled, “Fair or not, it's Mr. Obama's oil spill now,” does not follow The News-Sentinel's usual journalism conventions. During previous administrations, this paper has consistently, respectfully referred to the head of our country with the title of “President.” Why is this article titled this way?

The Washington Post's Politics and Policy blog points to an article in the evagelical magazine World ("Lessons from a broken man") in which self-deposed Rep. Mark Souder talks about his affair and life after the scandal:

Sorry, guys, no shortcuts:

A new drug designed to boost sexual desire in women is controversial for some and eagerly awaited by others, but it's hit a potentially serious snag. The drug didn't boost women's desire any more than a placebo in two clinical trials.

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But we know with absolute certainty that all that can be known about climate change is known and the debate is over except for a few fringe wingnuts who won't face reality:

New research by astronomers in the Physics Department at Durham University suggests that the conventional wisdom about the content of the Universe may be wrong.

Screwed again in the Heartland:

The quintessential Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino experience comes with card dealers in ties, feather-festooned showgirls and the most coveted amenity: the free drink.

Yet as casino gambling has migrated from America's storied gambling towns to middle America, the complimentary cocktail hasn't always survived the trip.

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