Category: Barack Obama

The Bookworm Beat 7-25-15 — the Lazy, but interesting, edition

As you may have gathered from the number of things we did every day on our recent trip to Virginia and environs, ours was not a restful vacation. I capped off the fatigue with a cold and, since our return, have been having a very hard time motivating myself to

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The Bookworm Beat 6-24-15 — the “midnight ramblings” edition

I should be heading for bed, as it’s after midnight, but I’m so thrilled to have a moment to myself that I can’t resist a little blogging. I’m feeling especially smug (and tired) tonight because my heroic 1:30 a.m. efforts yesterday were the difference between success and ignominious failure on

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The Bookworm Beat 6-6-15 — the “I’m still standing” edition and open thread

I’m sorry for the long silence, but to quote Granny Clampett, “I was just plumb tuckered out.” Between escalating work demands and the usual family demands, I haven’t had either spare energy or spare time. It was only two days ago that I stopped being in denial and accepted that,

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The Bookworm Beat 5-26-15 — the “mad, mad, mad, mad world” edition and open thread

No time for chit-chat. I’ve got stuff to share: America’s values have turned upside down It’s a time-honored custom for older people to look at changes in the world since their youth and to bemoan those changes. I’d like to think I’m neither that rigid nor that old. There are

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The Bookworm Beat 5-22-15 — the “no more doctors, please!” edition and open thread

My post title notwithstanding, I am well, I have been well, and I expect that I will continue to be well. It’s just that I’ve spent between five and fifteen hours every week for the last few weeks in doctors’ offices thanks to my mother and my kids, all of

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The Bookworm Beat 5-20-15 — the “I’m still standing” edition and Open Thread

Unlike Rand Paul, who is standing for a filibuster against the Patriot Act, my “standing” has to do with the fact that, after a long afternoon of shopping and doctors with my mother, I am still upright and reasonably coherent. His feat is the more admirable one or possibly the

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The Bookworm Beat 5-6-15 — the “long day” edition and open thread

Long day, low energy, but the siren song of blogging is calling out to me and I respond to that call: American campuses are becoming increasingly antisemitic Jonathan Marks writes about the way that pricey little Bowdoin College, tucked up in a corner of Maine, is “debating” a complete boycott of

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The Bookworm Beat 5-5-15 — the Cinco de Mayo edition and open thread

Once again, my post caption is misleading. This post has nothing to do with Cinco de Mayo. It just has to do with all the fascinating stories I’ve read in the last few days. These are in no particular order, so you’ll have to read all the way down to make

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The Bookworm Beat 5-4-15 — the “technology hates me” edition and open thread

My post caption to the contrary, this post has nothing to do with technology — except that technology explains why I started writing at 10:30, not 8:30. My computer apparently had a sudden yen to pretend that I had a dial-up modem and to start downloading information at speeds that

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