Haiti

All and Nothing

By Fr. Rick Frechette

Fr. Rick Frechette is a Passionist priest-doctor (and FIRST contributor) who has been working in Haiti for a generation, running hospitals and social programs in Port-au-Prince as well as a Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos orphanage on the outskirts of the capital. One of the two hospitals he directs was destroyed by the earthquake. (Two medical volunteers from the U.S. died there.) The other, newer, state-of-the-art hospital,was damaged but it's functioning. NBC reported on the work being done there last week. The reporter noted Fr. Rick had been taking care of his dying mother in Connecticut when the earthquake hit. She insisted he return to Haiti. He went back and forth, returning to U.S. in time to be with his mother as she died. He's now in Port-au-Prince again and he's updated friends and donors on the situation there... Continue reading "All and Nothing"


From Hunger

By Scott Spencer

Nothing lasts forever. After several decades of dire warnings about its frailty, what if the novel — long the linchpin of print culture - has finally died? It can happen; one day, it will happen. We novelists used to have the public by the nape of its collective neck, dependent on us for the lion’s share of its entertainment and enlightenment. Now, newer modes of communication compete with books for attention, and in the meanwhile attention spans of our friends and neighbors seem to have shortened, having been lulled into... Continue reading "From Hunger"


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WSQ Meets M'Boom: Another "Grand Collaboration"

By Amiri Baraka

When last (& first) they met, it was billed “The Grand Collaboration.” The production was the brainchild of the great Max Roach, one of the most formidable musicians to emerge in the 40’s with music media named “Bebop.” He is one of the original Boperators of that innovative upsurge of American Classical musical rejuvenation - the soul of which was carried by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, JJ Johnson, Kenney Clarke, Charlie Mingus to begin a list... Continue reading "WSQ Meets M'Boom: Another "Grand Collaboration""


Who's to Blame II

By Bernard Avishai

Right after the Massachusetts debacle, Bernard Avishai published a short post on “Who’s to Blame" at his website Bernard Avishai dot com. Avishai spoke as someone “marinated” in Massachusetts politics who wondered at Coakely’s grudging (“forced and fake”) nods to Obamacare. He argued: “The real question Democrats have to ask themselves is: how come the greatest piece of social legislation since Medicare is something a progressive Democratic candidate for Ted Kennedy’s seat has to speak so defensively about.” Talking Points Memo linked to Avishai’s post and it sparked argument. Here’s Avishai’s response to his critics... Continue reading "Who's to Blame II"


Why Murray the K turned into Glenn Beck (and Dr. Dre)

By Tom Smucker

Just as the How Ronald Reagan Became President histories trace back to William F. Buckley’s fusion of libertarians and conservatives under the umbrella of anti-Communism at the National Review and then back to Barry Goldwater’s catastrophic landslide loss to LBJ, which in retelling turns out to actually be the trial run for Reagan; may I suggest that future histories about How Sarah Palin Became President trace back to the anti-Disco riot at Chicago’s Comiskey Park on July 2, 1979 and then back to the arrival of Glenn Beck at Fox... Continue reading "Why Murray the K turned into Glenn Beck (and Dr. Dre)"

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