- Proverbs for Paranoids, 3: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.—Gravity’s Rainbow
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Our Pledge
You will never see an ad here. If you want or need something, we trust you will be able to want or need it without us planting the urge or ache. You certainly do not need our help finding what your heart desires on the internet.- “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.”—H.G. Wells
More bicycle quotations »
Category Archives: Agora
Careless
To the surprise of many, Chief Justice John Roberts has saved the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Unsurprisingly, his reasoning in doing so was cockeyed. He rejected the Commerce Clause justification in support of the federal government’s authority … Continue reading
Hitch
Alas, poor Hitchens. I knew him. We all knew him, in a way we rarely come to know other journalists and pundits. I’d also met him, but that doesn’t give me special standing.* He met thousands of people, and they … Continue reading
Generation
Will Occupy Wall Street be able to keep up the pressure through the winter? Well, that depends on a lot of things, and not just the weather. Even if enthusiasm remains high, you’ve got mayors and police forces to deal … Continue reading
WWGD?
There’s nothing like an execution—especially the execution of someone who is probably not guilty of the crime he was charged with—to give the lie to the claim that America is a “Christian nation.” There’s no need to belabor the point. We … Continue reading
Sharing
I’ve watched with some fascination the arrival of bike sharing in the Washington, DC, area—and its continued growth. I now pass a half-dozen Capital Bikeshare racks on my daily commute, and on many days—especially sunny days—they’re either empty or almost … Continue reading
Posted in Agora
Tagged China, cycling, London, New York, public policy, Washington DC
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Silliness
Now that Barack Obama has released a copy of his long-form birth certificate (the supposed Holy Grail of birtherism), the predictable reponses are already airborne: “Is it real?” (launched by The Donald), “What about his school records?” (ditto), and “What … Continue reading
Takeover
On March 16, I thought I was going to a run-of-the-mill protest downtown after work. As it turned out, I became part of a crowd occupying the lobby of an office building, and it was an attempt at push-back against corporate … Continue reading
Demogogue
“Are you now, or have you ever been, a Muslim?” (Photo: New York Times) Rep. Peter King (R-NY), IRA supporter, didn’t say that, as far as I know. But that’s what I “heard” at his “hearing” on home-grown Muslim terrorism (supposedly … Continue reading
Rallying
In October I attended two very different rallies in Washington, DC. And I did not attend a third, which was different in a different way. The third rally was actually the first, chronologically: Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” shindig in August. … Continue reading
Gadsden
Not content to wrap themselves in the Stars and Bars Stripes, the “Tea Party” people are grabbing other nice flags from our great confused history. I always liked the Gadsden flag: “Don’t tread on me” (although—in a fit of revolutionary … Continue reading
