Go Maroons

I was confused by the lead of New York Times scribe David Brooks' Feb. 4 column: "Last fall, I taught a political theory course at Duke University, as part of my lifelong quest to teach at every college I never could have gotten into out of high school."

Now, David Brooks went to the University of Chicago. It's true, of course, that the U of C is less selective than places like Harvard, Princeton and Duke. (Some say the U of C is less selective because U of C students select themselves, which is as sexy as it sounds.)

But I think Brooks is selling his alma mater short. As a Chicago man myself, I would take umbrage if I weren't preoccupied with reciting favorite passages from the Melian Dialogue.

As for what a guy with a bachelor's degree is doing teaching political theory at Duke, that is the power of journalism, and a loophole I'd be happy to jump through myself.

Primary sources

Read my Daily Page report from last night's mayoral debate.

Good word

"What's so Great about the Barrier Reef?"

-- Old 97's

Good word

"Give me your hungry, your tired, your poor, I'll piss on 'em. That's what the Statue of Bigotry says."

-- Lou Reed

If they were the Smothers Brothers, they'd get canceled

I like the laugh track. Very Ray Stevens.

Good word

"Tom Hanks, I hope you are proud. Offend the nuns if you are brave enough, but librarians?! You are a very very brave man."

-- Bookish Barbara

Brr

It's minus 13 out there, sources say. That, my friends, is cold. As I rode the bus to work today, I overheard this conversation:

"How are you doing?"

"Cold. How are you?"

"Fine. Cold."