Tag Archives: David Brooks

Ted Cruz–Dark and Satanic?

By Robin Bates | Published: January 14, 2016

When NYT columnist David Brooks called Ted Cruz “dark and satanic,” he was referencing a Blake poem. But although the allusion is apt, it struck most people as weird or offensive because they didn’t recognize the source.

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Prince Hal in Today’s School System

By Robin Bates | Published: July 12, 2012

David Brooks argues that today’s “nurturing, collaborative” educational system would have kept Shakespeare’s Prince Hal from becoming one of England’s great kings.

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Tolstoy, the Novelist vs. the Activist

By Robin Bates | Published: November 30, 2010

One thing I appreciate about the New York Times is that many of its columnists routinely mention literature. Maureen Dowd probably does so the most (note this passing reference to T. S. Eliot’s Wasteland), and I once wrote a column on Roger Cohen’s use of The Great Gatsby in a piece on President Obama. (Cohen wrote […]

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Christopher Hitchens, Literary Bully

By Robin Bates | Published: July 6, 2010

I confess to bristling when I hear the name Christopher Hitchens.The intellectual provocateur has been in the news recently, first for publishing his memoirs and second for contracting throat cancer.Although he is smart and well read, he has always struck me as a self-righteous intellectual bully, one who is more interested in toppling icons than […]

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Better Austen than Bronte on the Court

By Robin Bates | Published: May 12, 2010

An interesting New York Times column by David Brooks has me doing some more thinking on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s enjoyment of Pride and Prejudice.  Here is some of what he wrote: About a decade ago, one began to notice a profusion of Organization Kids at elite college campuses. These were bright students who […]

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