Happy 4th of July! The premiere episode of Aaron Sorkin’s new drama series The Newsroom (HBO) opens with a real bang. It does so by sacrificing a sacred cow held by many Americans: the belief that the United States is ‘the greatest country in the world’. This idea is so commonplace as to be ubiquitous. It isn’t enough for most …

“Male passengers were pushing ahead of women and children.” So observed retired police chief inspector Ed Gurr disapprovingly after he and his wife Liz made it successfully off the sagging Costa Concordia on January 13th. They were joined by the vast majority of the vessel’s other occupants, including the captain of the ill-fated cruise liner, who is either destined to …

The following letters to the Board of the Colorado River Sewage System Joint Venture were sent to Parker Live in public defense of the Joint Venture’s General Manager Andy Jones, who has been accused of improperly issuing himself a personal loan from the organization’s funds. The first was written by former resident Jerry McGuire, the second by Dr. Jeff Baird …