Articles

Shelf Life

Shelf Life Shelf Life

David Orr’s Beautiful and Pointless: A Guide to Modern Poetry; Kenneth Goldsmith’s Uncreative Writings

Feb 15, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Jordan Davis

Berlusconiland Berlusconiland

Has Silvio Berlusconi’s corruption deprived Italians of their liberty?

Feb 15, 2012 / Books & the Arts / Yascha Mounk

Letters Letters

Suffer the Little Puffins Atlanta   To perpetuate Tony Kushner’s Puffin Prize, fondness for funny fowl and tilt toward alliteration, he might endow a Distinguished Dodo lectureship. Congratulations on being a creative citizen! [“On Puffins and Presidents,” Jan. 30].   SETH FOLDY   New England’s PB: Beats Leaf-Peeping! Royalston, Mass. I read Gabriel Hetland’s “Grassroots Democracy in Venezuela” [Jan. 30] with a sense of déjà vu. Here in New England, we’ve been practicing participatory budgeting (PB) for nearly 400 years. We call it “town meeting.” In most New England towns, residents assemble once a year to vote on the budget—everything from cemetery care and streetlights to asphalt, senior housing and snow removal. So the true origin of PB is up here in the Northeast. It is ironic that Milwaukee, Chicago and Oakland, among other cities discussed by Hetland, must learn about PB from Venezuela rather than from US states and towns. I encourage those in the US PB movement to save the intercontinental airfare and head to New England in the spring. Town meeting is more entertaining than the autumn leaves, and we could sure use the tourist revenue! AARON ELLISON   Schools for the Poor Are Poor Schools Philadelphia There is no doubt that President Obama made a serious mistake when he chose Arne Duncan over Linda Darling-Hammond to be his education secretary. Unlike Duncan, who arrived late to the conclusion that No Child Left Behind is a “broken” law, Darling-Hammond always knew it and correctly analyzes its failures in “Redlining Our Schools” [Jan. 30]. Except for the stipulation that teachers must be highly prepared and qualified, there is little to salvage from the disastrous NCLB. Congress would be wise to take Darling-Hammond’s suggestions, unless it is committed to the deconstruction and privatization of our public schools. That would indeed be an American tragedy. GLORIA C. ENDRES   Morristown, N.J. Hooray for Linda Darling-Hammond blowing the whistle on the Obama administration’s misguided policies to turn around “failing schools.” The proposition that schools that educate only children from very poor families can be transformed by firing the principal and most of the teachers aims at the wrong target. That said, progressives err in acting like they know how to solve the problem of deep poverty. Of course we need a stronger safety net and more effective jobs and housing programs, as Darling-Hammond notes. But stick to the issue: what to do with “poverty only” schools. Concentrated poverty is the problem. Public schools are the only institutions certain to touch the lives of very poor children. So, stop with the jobs and housing suggestions and focus on what needs to change with educational policies and practices. Children from poor families begin kindergarten without the vocabulary, general knowledge and familiarity with print they need to begin to read. This is the tragic gap that is rarely narrowed, which means that most poor children are not strong readers by third grade. We know that if they are not up to grade level by age 9 or 10, their chances of catching up are only around 10 percent. The shame of federal policy is that it fails to concentrate on the kindergarten gap. President Obama campaigned with the right ideas but failed to follow through with what are proven practices: § start early with excellent preschool § concentrate on intensified literacy instruction in the primary grades and surround students with books, words, ideas, stories § spend more time with kids who struggle, check progress frequently § adjust and readjust instruction to reflect the needs of individual students. Simple to describe; devilishly difficult to do. Don’t confuse the issue by trying to solve everything. GORDON MacINNES, fellow The Century Foundation   Rip Up That Pavement Over Paradise! Eugene, Ore. We’ve got to rethink the concept of a “growth economy” and focus on regenerating, renewing, repairing and regrowing. Let’s spend a generation hiring millions for these jobs: build miles of bike and horse paths; replant diversified forests, grasslands and hedgerows; tear down derelict buildings and parking lots and plant urban farms; retrofit all buildings; build light rail and trollies; clean up every creek, stream, river, lake, beach; put solar panels, micro wind and water catchment on all buildings; develop clean energy; modernize water and sewage systems; put power lines underground. We need a Great Renewal. Push for these jobs locally, regionally, nationally, even internationally. They can’t be outsourced. Go to Facebook.com/TheGreatRenewal. We can do this. VIRGINIA LUBELL   All the News That’s Missed in Print Brown Deer, Wis. I just want to say thanks so very much. I subscribe to your print magazine and online newsletter and find your reporting especially insightful. While reading, I often find myself a tad chagrined because I’m not reading or viewing a similar story in the mainstream media; MSNBC is the exception. All too often everyone else is missing it, ignoring it or deciding against reporting it. Thanks again for what journalism is supposed to be all about. Really. ROBERT LEO RAMCZYK JR.   Corrections An editor misplaced a quotation in Andy Robinson’s “Marxism at Davos” [Feb. 20]. It was Philip Jennings, not Gerard Lyons, who said, “This isn’t the Magic Mountain, it’s the Great Gatsby revisited.” Eric Alterman’s February 13 “The Liberal Media” column should have referred to the International Atomic Energy Agency, not “Association.”

Feb 15, 2012 / Our Readers

Puzzle No. 3228 Puzzle No. 3228

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE PDF OF THIS WEEK'S PUZZLE. ACROSS  1 Change offensive position (11)  8 God’s period of mourning (5)  9 Writer of doggerel who samples “The Raven”? (9) 10 Hint at nut by sides of obscure river (10) 11 Flimsy article left unfinished (4) 12 Tell all about seat of primal drives and external facade (6) 13 Bean stuffed with last bit of capsicum (that is, pepper) (8) 16 Touched base with mixed-up teen, one who’s playing hooky (8) 18 Where a giraffe might be seen if a car broke down (6) 21 Small as a prong? (4) 22 Delaying tactic resulting from strain, assuming I clear the table (10) 24 Interpret my retro commercial presaging the end of the mass-produced (5-4) 25 In tic-tac-toe, X’s are forbidden things (2-3) 26 Multiply what some Republicans might charge each other? (11)   DOWN  1 Made a joke, and supplied everything but the opening (7)  2 Mythical king is willing, with Minoan leader coming in soon… (9)  3 …to cool stovepipe (3,3)  4 Fancy speeches primarily rescued the man, like a life preserver (8)  5 A hydroelectric structure is ur-
      gent? (4)  6 Knowledge stifles desire where food is prepared (7)  7 Strangely, sonar rubs out long-dead beast (12)  8 Acceptable test exists on plant (12) 14 In New Zealand, a carrier for “pipe disease” (9) 15 With Garr or Hatcher around, I chatter and dish (8) 17 Deceitful spam involves a French source of light for tanning studio equipment (7) 19 The way we count on energy is extreme (7) 20 I live surrounded by liquor and steak (6) 23 Shifty politician concealing corrpution, for example (4)   ACROSS 1 2 defs. 10 2 defs.
11 [t]HAI/T + IAN 12 anag. 13 LA + UNDRESS 14 GORGON + ZOLA
17 P + AIR 20 hidden 21 2 defs. 
23 S + TATUS QUO (outsquat anag.) 25 anag. 27 DOOR + DIE 28 NAIR + OBI (rani anag.) 29 2 defs.   DOWN 2 AL + ARM 3 R + AINDROP (I pardon anag.) 4 LEG + ALI + ZED
5 NEH-RU (rev.) 6 HA(I)RD + O
7 2 defs. (ref. 3226, 18D) 8 2 defs.
9 anag. (altering or integral) 15 RIG + MA ROLE 16 pun 18 RE-STRAIN
19 S(MASH)ING 22 rev. hidden
23 S + AD-AT (rev.) 24 hidden
26 [s]TROVE  

Feb 15, 2012 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto

Slide Show: Wisconsin’s Uprising, One Year Later

Slide Show: Wisconsin’s Uprising, One Year Later Slide Show: Wisconsin’s Uprising, One Year Later

When Governor Walker announced his proposal to strip public employees of most collective bargaining rights on February 11, 2011—little over a month after taking office—…

Feb 14, 2012 / Photo Essay / The Nation

What Are You Missing? What Are You Missing?

The only way to keep up on all of The Nation's special content is by joining our free EmailNation list.

Feb 14, 2012 / The Nation

Remembering Dr. Stephen Levin Remembering Dr. Stephen Levin

Dr. Stephen Levin's work continues to effect change and save lives.

Feb 14, 2012 / Katie Halper

What Are You Missing? What Are You Missing?

The only way to keep up on all of The Nation's special content is by joining our free EmailNation list.

Feb 14, 2012 / The Nation

Maria Margaronis: Greece’s Impossible Choice Maria Margaronis: Greece’s Impossible Choice

Greeks from all walks of life demonstrated against the austerity measure passed last weekend.  

Feb 14, 2012 / Press Room

Occupy Valentine’s Day Occupy Valentine’s Day

A different way to celebrate the Hallmark holiday.  

Feb 14, 2012 / StudentNation / Krystie Yandoli

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