A Writer’s Blog

  • This Is What Happened on January 6, 2021

    Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: Since there is now a deep partisan divide over what happened on January 6, it’s helpful to remember that there is extensive video footage of the events. Some footage was taken by the media, some by video cameras installed in the Capitol, some by police body cameras, and some… Read more

  • Holding Parents Accountable When Their Children Kill

    Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: This very important story appeared in the Washington Post. She had seen her grandson’s red, spiral-bound notebook before that night, but now, as Catherine O’Connor sifted through its pages for the first time, what she read astonished her. “School Shootings,” Joshua O’Connor had titled the first page, above a… Read more

  • Capital & Main: The Story of an Unlikely Alliance

    Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: In this article, Marcus Baram of Capital & Main describes a surprising alliance between a veteran labor organizer and his chief nemesis, a man who was a master of union-busting. He begins: They were certainly an odd couple, the unlikeliest of allies: the union organizer and the notorious union buster. Bob… Read more

  • Rittenhouse Benefitted from a Well-Funded Defense Team

    Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: We have had some animated discussion on this blog about whether the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse was “fair,” since he walks away a free man despite murdering two men and maiming a third. Paul Butler, a law professor at Georgetown University and a contributing columnist to the Washington Post,… Read more

  • Harold Meyerson: Manchin and Simena are not “Moderates”

    Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: Harold Meyerson, one of my favorite commentators on current events, says that we should stop calling Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema “moderates.” How can one man and one woman block every proposal that would help improve the lives of millions of Americans, including their constituents? Nor should we use… Read more

  • “Never for Glory,” a work in progress, the sequel to “The Patriot Oath”

    Never for Glory is the unfinished sequel of The Patriot Oath. With 25 completed chapters, there are about 10 to 15 left to finish the first draft. The first five chapters have already been presented to two of the four critique groups I belong to. One of the two groups has heard all of The… Read more