I’VE MENTIONED BEFORE IN THIS COLUMN that I started my voting life in 1980 (the year I turned 18) as a reliable Republican voter. I voted for Ronald Reagan twice and for Bush the Elder once. I even briefly explored joining the John Birch Society (they were sufficiently loony to dissuade even that long-ago hard-right, […]
Matt Talbot: Positive economic news, and predictions
AS PROMISED IN LAST WEEK’S COLUMN, I have some predictions about the coming year’s economic performance. I’ll devote a column next December to review what I got right and wrong below. I’ve mentioned before in this space that economic expansion based on debt tends to end in tears (see 1929 and 2008 for what I […]
Matt Talbot: Beginning to look a lot like … an economic upswing
GIVEN THAT THIS COLUMN’S PUBLICATION coincides with Christmas Day, I would like to start by wishing all of you a very merry Christmas. And speaking of gifts — according to the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy grew by 5 percent in the third quarter of this year. Given that the economy grew by 4.6 percent […]
Matt Talbot: War crimes should be investigated, prosecuted
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. This is what he said when host Chuck Todd asked him about detainees who were tortured and later turned out to be innocent:
Matt Talbot: On torture
“For the purposes of this Convention, the term ‘torture’ means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed […]
Matt Talbot: Redefining affordable
A FRIEND OF MINE IS LOOKING TO MOVE closer to the heart of the Bay Area — to Berkeley, specifically — and called me the other day to bring me up to date on his progress. “It’s insane, Matt,” he said. “One-bedroom apartments start at around $2,000 per month!” My friend makes around the average […]
Matt Talbot: What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
THANKSGIVING IS THE CONSENSUS HOLIDAY FOR EVERY AMERICAN. Jews may not celebrate Christmas, nor Christians Ramadan, but all of us pause on the last Thursday in November to give thanks, particularly for the abundance that is America’s most persistent and bewitching characteristic. Even most non-believers pause to appreciate what we have. I’ve spent time overseas, […]
Matt Talbot: A word about the midterm results, and a look forward
GIVEN MY LIBERAL ADVOCACY IN THIS SPACE AND ELSEWHERE, I should probably say a few words about the defeat of the Democrats in this year’s midterm elections. Before I give some free advice to the Democrats — which may be worth no more than what I’m charging them for it — I’m a good enough […]
Matt Talbot: Great jazz
I’VE MENTIONED BEFORE IN THIS SPACE that I’m a jazz fan. In part, I love jazz for the endless possibilities for expressiveness to which it lends itself, and for the communitarian and collaborative ethic that has always characterized the music. Wynton Marsalis has said regarding jazz: “As long as there is democracy, there will be […]
Matt Talbot: Final reflections on what Europe has to offer the United States
I AM NOW BACK ON AMERICAN SOIL, dear readers, so I thought this week I would offer some closing thoughts on what I saw and learned while in Europe. I mentioned in a previous column that everywhere we went, from Rome to Paris, public transportation was far superior to the American product. Trains, buses and […]