Stan Persky taught philosophy at Capilano University in N. Vancouver, B.C. He received the 2010 B.C. Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Literary Excellence. His most recent books are Reading the 21st Century: Books of the Decade, 2000-2009 (McGill-Queen's, 2011), Post-Communist Stories: About Cities, Politics, Desires (Cormorant, 2014), and Letter from Berlin: Essays 2015-2016 (Dooney's, 2017).
Far from the Madding Crowd
Douglas Murray’s “The Madness of Crowds,” a critique of the “social justice movement,” is a conservative writer’s response to gays, feminists, race, and trans people. Stan Persky reviews it, keeping an eye on the tripwires in an ideological minefield.
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If it quacks like a Duck, it might not be a Duck, it might be just a Quack. If it sounds like Donald Trump… well, he probably said it, or maybe it was Fox News, or QAnon, or whatever.
Did Trump say it? Did he deny saying it? Who knows?
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Apropos of Woody Allen: The Anxiety of Being… and don’t forget Nothingness
Woody Allen’s autobiography is not-so-great, but the films are more than good. Stan Persky reviews the book, the scandals, and the stuff on the silver screen.
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Paul Krugman vs. the Policy Proposals of the Living Dead
Paul Krugman’s Arguing With Zombies drives a stake through the heart of “zombie ideas.” The premier U.S. op-ed columnist who writes honestly about dishonesty.
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Once in Europa: What do the 2019 EU election results mean?
The rightwing populist tsunami didn’t happen; Greens blossom; Europe fragments, pro-EU majority maintained.
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Sonnet About Orpheus (Where)
Singing the Lord’s song in a strange land.
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Trump Prose Poem, a.k.a. Potus Takes a Snooze
POTUS takes a snooze.
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Guardians of the Truth? Notes on MSM
Stan Persky checks out the “guardians of the truth,” and puts in a good word for mainstream media (MSM). It’s “breaking news.”
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This Year’s Question
Can Democracy Work? asks James Miller. It’s not only this year’s question, it’s a question for the ages, from ancient Athens to the Trumpian present.
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In the Land of Oz
Amos Oz, 1939-2018. Reading “A Tale of Love and Darkness.”
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