Letters Letters
Gimme a P! Gimme an A! Gimme a T!… Alexandria, N.H. Katha Pollitt scores again. “Penn State’s Patriarchal Pastimes” [Dec. 5], her column about the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal, blooms into an editorial about patriarchy in which—in one page—she embeds football in the same “rich, loamy craziness of American popular morality” as “God, the flag, the military and the family.” Her writing is as breathtaking as a last-second Hail Mary touchdown pass. Katha is a treasure. TOM DIEHL Los Angeles Katha Pollitt’s column was a superb critique of the dangerous overemphasis on athletics in higher education. Pollitt, as usual, writes perceptively about contemporary life, and her call to reduce college sports to a valuable recreational enterprise for students makes enormous sense. It is therefore unfortunate that she added a gratuitous statement that premier athletes are “hauled through dumbed-down courses in gut majors like ‘interdisciplinary studies’ and ‘social science.’” This condemnation of major curricular changes, many of which are progressive responses to rigid, educationally dubious disciplinary specialization, reflects a disconcerting lack of knowledge of academic reform efforts of more than forty years, which have created internationally respected programs in, among others, ethnic and women’s studies. A few professors in all disciplines cater to student athletes with easy classes and grades. That problem should be identified and condemned rather than making a sweeping judgment about interdisciplinary studies and social sciences. PAUL VON BLUM African American Studies, Communication Studies, UCLA Putney, Vt. I am an athletic director. Our college doesn’t offer sports scholarships, although it is often discussed. When it comes up again, I will hand each administrator a copy of Katha Pollitt’s column. She has gone beyond the obvious corruption of the system to educate me on the unfairness of leaving deserving students behind in favor of an undeserving athlete. Giving athletes a way out of the ghetto? How about giving someone who studies hard and wants to be a nurse or doctor a chance to get out of the ghetto? JIM AUSTIN, Athletic director Landmark College Old Lyme, Conn. Katha Pollitt, as usual, has a bead on the bull’s-eye, but beware the bull’s backside. Hauling the Penn State bigs off to the dunking chair might be a good public show and even have some effect, but the deeper issue is the entire university culture, these days cast in the corporate rather than the academic mold. Good corporate citizens are rewarded for loyalty and behavior that protects the brand and its marketing. In the once-upon-a-time days of shared faculty/administration governance, the moral climate was wider and more likely to encourage and protect those who spoke out. The decline of faculty authority has adversely affected the academy. The unchecked and cumulative decay exposed by the Penn State horror can be disinfected by firing its present custodians, but restoration will take a more persistent commitment to inquiry, analysis and, eventually, discovery—a process that, fortunately, defines scholarship. J. RANELLI Thank You, Readers! Albuquerque Thank you to readers Dayton, Hirschhorn, Harris and Thomas for their excellent responses to complaints about President Obama [“Letters,” Dec. 5]. As a young country, we’re still in the adolescent phase, thus our impatience with solutions that take time; refusal to support leaders who don’t immediately fulfill our desires; and thinking that not voting is a smart move. Fellow Americans, it’s time to grow up! CAROL WILLIAMS
Dec 21, 2011 / Our Readers
Puzzle No. 3221 Puzzle No. 3221
ACROSS 1 Sharper-tasting Moroccan port (7) 5 Outside opening of garage, bury a car (7) 9 In retrospect, traffic control device found in Los Angeles archaeological site is murderous (9) 10 Plants seed of litigation in places for public discussion (5) 11 Records mantras before one officer’s: in brief, they are cathartic (5,5) 12 I’m like, “Spring of Rite, man!” (4) 13 Bionic hero captures a specialized market (5) 15 Shocked, I pass out: one thousand is K? (9) 18 Signalling, spot famous catch (6,3) 19 Greek character: poor fit for civilian clothes (5) 21 From a distance, a blonde lost me as a subject… (4) 22 …waving as Ling Ling goes berserk (10) 26 Spanish island’s commercial domain breaking Iowa apart (5) 27 Bush, in a panic, irrationally clutches Obama’s head (9) 28 Circumventing downpour, catch mythical Welsh king (7) 29 Almost seize part of a fork covered with cheese (7) DOWN 1 Ethiopian raised minor complaint about a bit of work (7) 2 Bill goes in opposite directions for afternoon services (5) 3 Incorporated…er…crooked office holder (9) 4 Vehicle for the fire chief receives favorite kind of treatment (3,6) 5 Key is allowed (5) 6 Pharaoh grasps top of frond cluster (4) 7 Heavens! Leave fog, ride recklessly (4,5) 8 Granite, for everything else on the periphery of an Indian city near Mexico’s capital (7) 14 Amid gaiety, nearly legitimate knight (9) 16 Hammering broken cog in turn (9) 17 Representations of curve college grad is flipping (9) 18 Perhaps sad or wrenching (7) 20 Don’t drop your keys there—you’ll get no appreciation from him (7) 23 Putin’s terrible advice (5) 24 Baghdad resident initially inspected reactor and questioned intelligence (5) 25 One leg up for wise men (4) ACROSS 1 & 12 2 defs. 5 pun 9 EMOT + IONAL (tome rev., a lion anag.) 10 hidden 11 “dew wet” 14 PRIM + AL 16 LUR(K)E + R[ogue]S 17 & 22 2 defs. 18 P(OTHER)B 19 S[tud]Y + STEM 23 S + KID 26 A + PING 27 CAL(CU)L + ATE 28 LA(YET)TE 29 anag. DOWN 1 SP(EED) UP (rev.) 2 EV(OK)E 3 hidden 4 urn anag. 5 HELL(H)O + LE 6 WE + A(THERE)YE 7 IMP + RUDE + N[o]T 8 anag. 13 anag. 17 OB + STAC + LE (rev.) 18 2 defs. 20 M(ID + W)EEK 21 INF[o] + LOW 24 hidden 25 2 defs.
Dec 21, 2011 / Joshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto
If It Ain’t Broke, Break It If It Ain’t Broke, Break It
House Republicans sink payroll tax cut extension in their single-minded quest to “drown government in the bathtub.”
Dec 20, 2011 / Rep. Keith Ellison
Politifact Peddles Falsehood About Ryan Plan to Privatize Medicare Politifact Peddles Falsehood About Ryan Plan to Privatize Medicare
Politifact declared Democrats’ complaint that Republicans voted to end Medicare the biggest lie of the year. But the Ryan budget the House GOP passed would end Medicare. ...
Dec 20, 2011 / Ben Adler
The Change I Believe In The Change I Believe In
2012 needs to be about what comes next, not just who comes next.
Dec 20, 2011 / Katrina vanden Heuvel
Remembering Those We Lost, 2011 Remembering Those We Lost, 2011
We launched Lived History, a special section of TheNation.com, to honor, remember and pay tribute to the dearly departed who have made significant contributions to bettering o…
Dec 20, 2011 / 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.
Dec 20, 2011 / The Nation
Whither the Occupation? Whither the Occupation?
As the D17 attempt to occupy Trinity Church’s Duarte Park showed, Occupy Wall Street is struggling to figure out if it needs a physical occupation—and if so, where.
Dec 20, 2011 / Rachel Signer
The Life and Death of American Drones The Life and Death of American Drones
What a busted robot airplane tells us about American empire in 2012 and beyond.
Dec 20, 2011 / Nick Turse
The Ongoing Republican Plan to Shame the Poor The Ongoing Republican Plan to Shame the Poor
Drug tests and GED classes are the new requirements for anyone who dares to collect unemployment insurance.
Dec 20, 2011 / Jamelle Bouie