Dewey's Democracy and Education is the fifth most dangerous book of the last two hundred years.
Anyone for a reading group?
(Via Billmon.)
If I am rendered comatose and determined to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for a period longer than one month and if no imminent cure is forthcoming, I do not wish to be kept alive by artificial means including but not limited to nourishment, hydration, etc.
However....
If, due to the absurd political state of affairs in this country, my persistent vegetative state and impending unplugging can be parlayed into some sort of political leverage, I wholly endorse using my predicament in whatever way possible for the purposes of passing legislation favorable to my general political and ethical outlook. Here is a list of top-tier causes I support and will continue to support, both while in my PVS and after my eventual death:
(Follow the link for the full list.)
To which I can only add: me too. Oh, and also the abolition of the death penalty -- a pro-life cause if I ever heard one.
"That's my job. ... It's hard ... It's hard work ... Frankly, I don't even know why my opponent wants this job ... 'cause it's hard ..."
"My position on the war has always been clear. I have consistently opposed the war in front of anti-war groups, and favored it in front of pro-war ones. That's not flip-flopping, it's pandering, and Americans deserve a president who knows the difference."
The rest of Saturday Night Live may suck, but damn they know how to skewer a presidential debate.
(Also, it turns out Ben Affleck does a pretty good James Carville.)
So I spent a lot of time complaining with some friends about hipsters yesterday. (Specifically Prescott ones, for those of you at Hampshire.) To my amazement, there is an entire blog, very cleverly written, catering to this tendency. Also, this is very funny.
This is a cultural trend which should be encouraged, lest the entire college-educated youth population of this country be reduced to snorting cocaine, buying trucker hats at thrift stores, and developing an "ironic" appreciation of network television. God help us.
P.S. I just remembered The Onion once ran a hysterically funny piece entitled something like "Family Unsure What to Do With Dead Hipster's Possessions," but it doesn't appear to be online any longer. Very sad.
Maybe it's the elitist in me, but this is the first of these online quizzes I've ever gotten much of a laugh out of: Which New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Are You?