If there were one question I wished could be asked of George Zimmerman, acquitted last night in the shooting death on Trevon Martin on the grounds of self-defense, it would be this: Would you have followed and confronted the teenager if you were not… more »

  Last week, Thomas B. Edsall posted an intriguing article entitled “Our Broken Social Contract” to the NY Times “Opinionator” blog. He started with a basic theme: “Many Americans think that their country has lost its way. But when they try to make se… more »

I have been very impressed by a group of young people whose work gives me hope for our society's future. They are a varied group of journalists, commentators, and public intellectuals who represent a spectrum of political philosophy but share the valuab… more »

  I have been struck in recent years by the increased use of euphemisms in the media, entertainment and other public conversation. There are several possible reasons for this- obscuring an actual meaning, lessening an impact, affecting a verbal flouris… more »

From a media perspective, last week was a news orgy. The Boston Marathon bombing on Monday was followed by the stunning resolution on Friday. In 5 days, Boston went from a scene of chaos and heartbreak, to ghost town to the spectacle of people poring in… more »

When I was a young boy, I was intrigued by what happened when I mixed a small bit of chocolate ice cream with a larger amount of vanilla ice cream. It invariably turned a shade of chocolate. I was fascinated because of the proportions of the flavors, I… more »