by Harold Pollack Great producer and impresario Jerry Wexler passed away today. Along with Ahmet Ertegun, Tom Dowd, and others, Wexler was a great behind-the-scenes forces in rhythm and blues—a term he himself coined, along with the delightful follow-on “immaculate funk.” The Times has a terrific obituary today. As recounted there, the filmmaker Tom Thurman […]
Harold Pollack
Harold Pollack is the Helen Ross Professor of Social Service Administration and Public Health Sciences at the University of Chicago and a nonresident Fellow of the Century Foundation.
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DOES ANYONE CARE HOW WE ACTUALLY RUN THE GOVERNMENT? SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE NEXT DEBATE.
by Harold Pollack This month’s Atlantic has a great James Fallows analysis of campaign debates. Buried deep is a compilation prepared by Sidney Blumenthal and Daniel Freifeld for the Clinton campaign, in which they examined reporters’ questions in 15 debates. As they summarize it: 352 QUESTIONS 29 GOTCHA QUESTIONS 33 PUFF QUESTIONS 7 GOVERNANCE QUESTIONS […]
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OUR DEBT TO DESPERATE STRANGERS.
by Harold Pollack Journalists and professors share one great perk: the opportunity to travel. Not too long ago, I found myself in Paris, strolling the most beautiful city in the world. I’m still awed by the usual tourist things. I gawked at a 7-foot North African traffic policeman in white gloves and full decorative dress. […]
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WILL VLADIMIR PUTIN KILL HEALTH REFORM?
By Harold Pollack This morning’s New York Times includes a great column by Paul Krugman, noting that our age of globalization may perish as the first did: through destructive nationalism, violence, and war. I find Krugman’s analysis frightening and compelling. If history is any guide, these developments also threaten the prospects for progressive legislation here […]
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I’M IN THE MOUNTAINS HUNTING THE TALIBAN, BUT I’M STILL AFRAID TO BUNK WITH SOME GAY PERSON.
By Harold Pollack When I was 16, I moved to a new high school My first day in gym class, a big bruiser tackled me and ripped my shirt. When he was done marking his territory and lumbered off, I turned to the guy next to me and commented that it was going to be […]
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THEN THERE’S THE DRUG PROBLEM.
By Harold Pollack I was driving home late from work one night, passing the intersection of 59th street and MLK. As I rounded the corner, a run-down Corolla blocked my way. Its four grungy occupants were bantering with some guy on the sidewalk for several minutes. I started to feel quietly irritated as they kept […]
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POSTSCRIPT ON TOBACCO CONTROL.
By Harold Pollack I got some great comments on this morning’s post. You folks have recapitulated the key debates here: paternalism, comparisons with alcohol and illicit drugs, the danger of a black market, regressivity. A few quick comments.
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“AND CARTHAGE MUST BE DESTROYED”: THE IMPERATIVE OF TOBACCO CONTROL.
By Harold Pollack One of the commenters asked about tobacco. Cato the elder ended every speech with the admonition: “And Carthage must be destroyed!” Nothing against Carthage, but Cato was right never to let anyone to forget his simple message. Anyone blogging about public health must do the same….
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SICK IN COUNTY JAIL.
By Harold Pollack I spent yesterday at Cook County Jail, a behemoth complex of buildings the size of a small neighborhood on Chicago’s west side. During a glacial wait for some Xerox copies, I stared out the window at the sidewalks marked off by high fences and ugly concertina wire. Young moms, kids in tow, […]
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TAINTED BLOOD, MISTAKES BY A FUTURE CHIEF JUSTICE, AND THE MARGINALIZATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
by Harold Pollack I published a piece in the New Republic today examining America’s failures in HIV prevention. AIDS has already killed more Americans than the combined total of combat deaths in World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Despite treatment advances, the deaths keep coming. In 2006, the most recent year with […]
