Class warfare
A joke has been making the rounds: "A union guy, tea bagger, & CEO are @ table w/ 12 cookies. The CEO takes 11 & tells tea bagger: That union guy wants a part of your cookie." It's exactly...
View ArticleGoodBye NYTimes
My response to the NYTimes putting up a paywall has been to quit visiting their website. I might be willing to pay something for the NYTimes, but $15/month is way more than I want to spend. Supposedly,...
View ArticleUMass Crossroads
As the spring semester wraps up at UMass Amherst, a few big changes introduced by the current chancellor are looming. One is the move to join the Mid American Conference for football and another is a...
View ArticleMTA Fails to Lead on Single-Payer Healthcare
I've been coming to the MTA annual meeting for 5 or 6 years now. It's a fascinating experience, in part because of the unique qualities of the members. Mostly teachers, but with an admixture of...
View ArticleExtraordinary Merit
This morning, the voting will begin on extraordinary merit for the campus. Although I oppose it strongly, I have made my peace with the outcome and will accept whatever happens with equanimity.The...
View ArticleExceptional Merit Passes
On Friday, we learned that the chancellor's exceptional merit proposal had passed. The vote was about 60% to 40%. Since at least some tenure-system faculty voted against it, it suggests that many...
View ArticleSo-called "consumer market" for health care
Over the past year, my health-care benefits have been cut significantly. I discovered one result of these cuts when I received a bill for routine tests that my doctor had requested several months ago....
View ArticleSexual harrassment
The Boston Globe has suddenly discovered that teenagers use sexual slang and epithets to torment one another. Is this a surprise to anyone? Did they repress their own memories of being a teenager? The...
View ArticleBelartaj Konkursoj kaj Esperanto-informado
Antaŭ kelkaj jaroj, mi verkis hajbunon "Patro kaj Filo ĉe Sukerpanmonto" kiu aperis ĉe Beletra Almanako. Nun mi finlaboras novan hajbunon "Spuroj Sub Franc-Reĝa Ponto" kaj pripensas kien celi ĝin. Phil...
View ArticleGetting Blocked
When Max Gladstone and Theodora Goss both tweeted links about Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker not allowing Syrian refugees, I thought I would retweet both. But I was surprised to discover, when I...
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