'I strongly defend the right to speak one’s mind in public forums,' Erwin Chemerinsky writes. 'But the rancorous debate over the Israel-Hamas war seems to be blurring some people’s sense of which settings are public and which are not.' theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

Completely agree with this. No, we're not near some brink. Far from it.

The Real Path to an American Civil War nytimes.com/2024/04/17/opi…

Some stories come together in a day or two -- others take 2.5 years.

'Last week, longtime Danny’s manager Kevin Stacy...was driving to an appointment when he saw the sign hanging on the building at the southwest corner of Damen and Grand.'

Kudos to Ta-Nehisi Coates. This piece holds up so well, eight years after the fact.

theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

We built the Empire State Building in one year and 45 days, start to finish. Surely we can fix the Francis Scott Key Bridge in half that time. It is a vastly easier feat, with nearly a century of engineering improvement since then. Cmon, America.

wsj.com/articles/it-sh…

Trump: I was proudly the person responsible for the ending of Roe v. Wade

Lines overheard at Flo's, near NY's Oneida Lake, in the Path of Totality:

'All the billionaires are flying up today. They have all the slots reserved. Then they're flying back with all the young women.'

'I see it, I don't see it. I could give a shit.'

Poor thing doesn't even know it's going to be totally eclipsed today.

What writer other than the inestimable John McPhee could capture these thoughts while contemplating the extraordinary geology alongside I-80 in Pennsylvania? There may be no better prose stylist alive in America, and all of it in the service of non-fiction.

Preparing to savor this in all its sure glory and disgust.

The The New York Times needs to fix their Wordle bot thing. It is badly broken.

The NYT editors cannot help themselves. Story makes clear that Biden:
-released a 6-page report of medical findings/tests
-responded to questions from reporters
-disclosed what medications he's on

Trump does none of that yet they both sides it.

nytimes.com/2024/04/04/us/…

The Artist Moved to Despair at the Grandeur of Antique Fragments, 1778–80, by Henry Fuseli.

Gotta love the honesty here in a classic tale of one Alpine summer hike turned frosty. By the great ex-WSJ scribe George Anders

Simply atrocious that they were killed.

God bless José Andrés:

'Israel is better than the way this war is being waged. It is better than blocking food and medicine to civilians. It is better than killing aid workers who had coordinated their movements with the Israel Defense Forces.'

nytimes.com/2024/04/03/opi…

My brief ode to Maryland's Eastern Shore and some of what it taught when I sought refuge there.

talbotspy.org/the-eastern-sh…

Couldn't be more thrilled over the meteoric rise of women's basketball. Can't wait for the Final Four match ups this weekend.

Good chuckle over this one. Leading up to my talk Thursday evening in Chestertown MD. 6PM at The Imperial Hotel.

theeveningenterprise.com/neil-kings-ame…

Thank god the The New York Times has kept its own sportswriters because they are head and shoulders above those of The Athletic, as this story attests.

The Caitlin Clark Show Rolls On nytimes.com/2024/04/02/us/…