Commentary

City elector, country elector

The Electoral College, let’s stipulate, has no place in a modern election. What made sense for a set of states who considered themselves mostly sovereign in the 1780s, at a time when protecting the power of people who owned other … Continue reading

Crossing the T in Treason

Let me preface this by saying, unequivocally, that Donald Trump should be impeached. Never mind impeached: publicly spanked, or shot into the sun would be even better. We should all wish for Congress to act swiftly to make this happen, … Continue reading

Handy symbols

In the five years that I spent in Wisconsin, the ubiquitous symbol of Madison liberals’ resistance to the right-wing takeover of the state was the Wisconsin fist. Something about it always bothered me. I always figured that my dislike for … Continue reading

Walter Christaller’s bloomin’ onions

Last week, Twitter took notice that Outback Steakhouse seemed to be planning to cover the United States in an occult pattern of pentangles: Wtf is Outback Steakhouse planning pic.twitter.com/l1CSafkdOK — balenci-who? aga ☭ (@eatmyaesthetics) July 27, 2017 From Arizona to … Continue reading

Buy it here

On Dorchester Ave in South Boston yesterday, we drove beneath a billboard for Bark Thins chocolate. Bark Thins is a brand owned by the Hershey Company of Pennsylvania; the billboard was owned by Clear Channel of San Antonio, Texas; and … Continue reading