Altercation

Bad Brown Acid

By Eric Alterman

I've got a new "Think Again" column, called "Why Can't the Media Explain Our Woes? (and Why Other Countries Don't have Them...). It's a comparison of healthcare systems in the United States and Europe and a musing on why our media fail to communicate these essential differences. And you can find it here.

My new Nation column is called "Harvard Heal Thyself (Why Journalism Matters)." It's about the Times excellent reporting of the Harvard Medical School scandal, and it's here.

On The Daily Beast this week, I did an interview with the great E.L. Doctorow about his new novel, Homer and Langley here and a discussion of the stakes of Obama's speech, here.

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September 10, 2009

Slacker Friday

By Eric Alterman

Wrapup: I've got a new Think Again column called "Ted Kennedy, in Substance" which deals with the personalistic, rather than substantive coverage of the senator's life and career, as well as some of those that did. That's here.

Also, I've got a new Moment column called "Hiding Truths from the Goyim--and Ourselves," here. I see they start sorta similarly...

Now here's the man:

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September 4, 2009

Slacker Friday

By Eric Alterman

Wrapup: I've now a new "Think Again" column called "Official Evidence vs. 'Gut Hatred'" here.

It's about the derision those people who were right about Bush and Iraq continue to experience from those who were wrong, inspired by Tom Ridge and Marc Ambinder. (And P.S., we recall that Ted Kennedy, we are reminded by our friends at Thinkprogress.org, called his vote against authorizing the invasion "the best vote I've made in my 44 years in the US Senate." We could not agree more.)

My Nation column, here, is called "Novak Without Tears." You can guess what that's about.

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August 28, 2009

A (Very) Short Story About a Photograph

By Eric Alterman

I've now a new "Think Again" column called "Official Evidence vs. 'Gut Hatred'" here.

It's about the derision those people who were right about Bush and Iraq continue to experience from those who were wrong, inspired by Tom Ridge and Marc Ambinder. (And p.s., we recall that Ted Kennedy, we are reminded by our friends at Thinkprogress.org, called his vote against authorizing the invasion "the best vote I've made in my 44 years in the US Senate." We could not agree more.)

My Nation column, here, is called "Novak Without Tears." You can guess what that's about.

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August 27, 2009

Slacker Friday

By Eric Alterman

Wrapup: My new "Think Again" column is here. It's called "That Doggone Librul Media, Caught Again... " Also, I did a Daily Beast post this morning trying (hoping) to explain the strategy behind Obama's apparently unwavering commitment to bipartisanship. I'm OK with it, as long as I'm right.

CHARLES PIERCE
NEWTON, MA.

Hey Doc:

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August 21, 2009

Marty Peretz (and The New Republic) vs. Starving Children

By Eric Alterman

Wrapup: My new "Think Again" column is here. It's called "That Doggone Librul Media, Caught Again... " Also, I did a Daily Beast post this morning trying (hoping) to explain the strategy behind Obama's apparently unwavering commitment to bipartisanship. I'm OK with it, as long as I'm right. I clicked on this headline just for fun: "Peretz: Put Oxfam On My Shit List."

Here is the story:

Help the Palestinians: Boycott Israel
August 17, 2009

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August 20, 2009

Bring the Crazy...

By Eric Alterman

Wrapup: I've got a new Think Again called " Media Ethics: 'So Last Century'"

Also, two Alter-recommendations: The Ghosts of Flatbush a documentary about the Brooklyn Dodgers running on HBO but also rentable, is one the greatest documentaries I've ever seen. I also very much enjoyed Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 which I rented from Netflix. Also, there are two bio-docs out about Bruce Springsteen, in which I appear. The one that is running on the Biography channel is OK. I am used mostly to talk about Bruce's childhood, rather than the music, on which I am apparently an insufficient authority. The second one, which is available commercially, is 150 minutes long and from what I can remember from the interviews, ought to be pretty erudite. You can read about that one here. I'll review it when I get it.

Pierce is early this week:

CHARLES PIERCE
NEWTON, MA.

Hey Doc:

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August 13, 2009

Slacker Friday

By Eric Alterman

I've got a new Think Again called "The Mainstream Media Opens the Door to Hate" here.

CHARLES PIERCE
NEWTON, MA.

Hey Doc:

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August 7, 2009

Spy vs. Spy

By Eric Alterman

I've got a new Think Again called "The Mainstream Media Opens the Door to Hate" here.

For those of you who've been following the Izzy Stone imbroglio, you will have noted that Messrs Klehr and Haynes, along with Ronald Radosh and Max Holland, have, at various points in recent months, taken considerable offense at the criticisms I have published of their work as it relates to what I consider to be a rash of unproven accusations against I. F. Stone. I therefore think it would be worthwhile for the list to take note of the lengthy review essay of Spies, among other works, by Nicholas Lemann, Dean of the Columbia University School of Journalism, recently published in The New Yorker. It is not available online, but personally, I found it to be an extremely valuable contribution to the historical debate, particularly with regard to Stone, as they, to my mind, nearly perfectly echo many of the points raised about the book by myself, Don Guttenplan, Kai Bird, Myra McPherson, and many others.

Nicholas Lemann, Books, "Spy Wars," The New Yorker, July 27, 2009, p. 70-75

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August 6, 2009

Slacker Friday

By Eric Alterman

Wrapup: I did two columns about the Skip Gates affair this week, God help me. The first one is my "Think Again column." It's called "Why Does Barack Obama Hate America? (Hint: Blame ACORN)" and it's here.

Then there's my Nation column, which is called, "Class, not 'Race,' with which I imagine most Nation readers will strongly disagree and that's here. That's all for now. Here's Pierce, et al:

Charles Pierce
Newton, MA.

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July 31, 2009