Journalism

Q.  In your new book our man Frank Bascombe says he wants to “decommission” certain words and phrases. What’s the idea here? What is on Frank’s list of decommissioned words?

RICHARD FORD: The idea is that we take this wonderful living entity in our lives, and we manage to reduce it to clichés and noun-verb constructions — to reduce it almost to babble, as fast as we can. What Frank wants to do is take out as many of these unlikable words, these corrupting and polluting words, as he can. For example: “I am here for you” — when you really mean just the opposite.
— – continued at LA Review of Books: HERE.

The morning after a dark night for Democrats, California stands as the great exception to the national pattern of Republican power. In the state, not a single Republican was elected to statewide office . . .
. . . continued at TheNation.com, HERE

Laura Poitras’s documentary about Edward Snowden, “Citizenfour,” opens 10/24: “One Homeland Security agent says, ‘Drop the pen! If you don’t stop taking notes, we’re going to handcuff you.’  Why? They say my pen potentially was a weapon. I am facing two Homeland Security agents with guns, and they are shouting, ‘Drop the pen! Drop the pen!'”
. . . continued HERE

At Grambling “I joined a fraternity, a tremendous exercise in violence. The hazing of pledges is masculinity run off the rails. It’s an obscenity. It takes advantage of young men wanting to prove themselves physically—by submitting to abuse and enduring it—and then keeping it secret.”  continued HERE

Bill Clinton is a fan of “Homeland” — Claire Danes says they both appeared at the 2013 Golden Globes—where, she said, Clinton “asked if I would come and meet him in some special room.”
Can you really blame him?
. . . continued at TheNation.com, HERE

To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Nixon’s resignation, we talked with John Dean—his new book is The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It.
What was it like for you to spend four years listening to Nixon talking?
I told my wife Maureen, “Men in my family go deaf in their mid-70s, and I’m getting there. God forbid that the last voice I hear is Richard Nixon’s.” Fortunately, Jon, I can hear your voice, so I’ve come out the other side.
. . . continued HERE

“Congratulations, Class of 2014, you’re totally screwed”…. The average student-loan borrower graduating in 2014 is $33,000 in debt, according to the Wall Street Journal—the highest amount ever. And a new study of public universities shows that student debt is worst at schools with the highest-paid presidents. .. . . continued at TheNation.com, HERE

Q. Did you always want to write a menopause book?
A. Isn’t that every girl’s dream?
. . . continued at The Nation, HERE

August 8 will be the fortieth anniversary of Nixon’s resignation. That’s a good target date for the long-overdue appointment of a new director of the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California.  The library has been without a director for two and a half years, ever since the departure of Timothy Naftali in 2011. . .
… continued at TheNation.com HERE

Q. You do live shows all over the place. What’s it like to do your left-wing live show in a right-wing state like Alabama?
A.  I’ve been to Alabama twice this year. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve yet to find a place in America that’s so backward I can’t find two or three thousand screaming liberals to come out on a Friday night and cheer for the blue team. I think they’re gratified to look around the room and see so many people who they didn’t realize live in their area and think like they do.
. . . . continued at The Nation, HERE