Kathleen Geier

I’m not sure how much attention anyone pays to newspaper editorials these days — probably not a lot — but nevertheless it was good to see the New York Times strongly denouncing a troubling case of censorship in India in an editorial yesterday. This is a case, not of official government censorship, but censorship by […]

Over at the Monkey Cage, political scientist John Sides reports about a new epidemiological study that finds that having a Republican in the White House is linked to increases in infant mortality rates. The study, which was conducted by academics at the University of Michigan, looked at data between 1965 to 2010. They found that, […]

So, heavy metal has-been Ted Nugent has “apologized” — kinda — for his gross and racist characterization of President Obama as a “subhuman mongrel” and a “chimpanzee”: “I do apologize, not necessarily to the president, but on behalf of much better men than myself,” Mr. Nugent said, mentioning Mr. Perry and Mr. Abbott. He added: […]

I’ve written about my adoration for Kacey Musgraves previously in this space. As I said then, though I love country music, I’m not thrilled with most of the product Nashville churns out these days. But Kacey is different. Her 2013 album, Same Trailer, Different Park, marked the emergence of a country original. I was delighted […]

Here are some headlines making the news this evening: — Michael Sam, a University of Missouri defensive lineman, has come out as gay. He will likely become the first openly gay player in the NFL. — Bill Keller is leaving the New York Times to head up a news nonprofit. I wonder if the recent […]

I wanted to be sure to call your attention to a really fabulous piece of journalism in the current issue of The New Yorker. It’s by Rachel Aviv, and it concerns a ruthless corporate campaign to discredit a scientist who discovered that a chemical is causing serious harm to animals and humans. This story is […]

There’s a very interesting story in today’s Washington Post about workers who are now able to quit their jobs because of Obamacare. For example, here’s the story of a woman named Polly Lower: It happened in September, when her boss abruptly changed her job description. She went from doing payroll, which she liked, to working […]

Fatigued by the Woody Allen/Dylan Farrow saga? That’s understandable. When the Onion starts satirizing a media obsession you know it’s at or approaching jump-the-shark status. But I wanted to approach it from a different angle, and talk about how the case has played out on the internet and in social media. I followed this case […]

Yesterday, I posted a link to a video from the new Dum Dum Girls album. I mentioned that the album, like their previous recordings, is produced by Richard Gottehrer. Gottehrer has had a long, illustrious, and fascinating career in rock music. He started as a Brill Building songwriter and producer in the early 1960s, where […]

Over at Salon.com, Paul Campos has published a nice piece about our increasingly whiny, out-of-touch plutocrats. Among other recent episodes, he mentions the case of the Texas rich kid who beat the rap with the instantly infamous “affluenza” defense, as well as Tony Perkins, the shrieking hysteric who made those “Kristallnacht” remarks. I particularly liked […]