James S. Russell

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  • SCOTUS Justice Roberts Warps Facts to Prevail in Abortion Free Speech Decision

    The Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, John Roberts, raised my hackles by quoting several decisions that harken back to ancient Greece to glorify the value of free speech on streets and sidewalks. He brought in these precedents to justify the outcome in McCullen v. Coakley, what’s called the abortion buffer case. He wrote the decision for Read more

  • Rising Seas Are Not Shoreline Doomsday

    Rising Seas Are Not Shoreline Doomsday

    Climate change is not a death sentence to vulnerable coastal communities in North Carolina. Unfortunately the political reaction to new flood maps, according to this Washington Post story, has been to deny the threat rather than to engage with it. The only other option seems to be to write off the billions of value on Read more

  • Stop the Suburb Bashing, Already

    I grew up at a time when the suburbs ruled and cities were burning. So naturally I could not be more thrilled at the vitality I find in cities. It is actually possible nowadays to say that New York City is a pleasurable place to live, not just that its advantages make its horrors tolerable. Read more

  • Welcome To My Renovated Blog!

    Thanks to the infinitely patient David Haddad, webmeister and brand-building guru, I’m happy to introduce a more user-friendly blog that nests comfortably within a streamlined website. You can explore the site to learn more about the work I do in journalism, criticism, consulting, public speaking and teaching. It is a rewarding if accidentally hybridized life Read more

  • The Suicidal Will to Power and Speed

    The Suicidal Will to Power and Speed

    Futurism is the ultimate art movement for boys who love their technology toys. I made my way up the curving ramp of the Guggenheim Museum to consider the legacy of art and architecture obsessed with speeding cars and gliding biplanes. Manifesto-loving Futurists spewed overheated sexualized paeans to locomotives, weaponry, and brawny workers stoking fires roaring Read more

  • The Delusional Highway Goliath of Dallas

    The Delusional Highway Goliath of Dallas

    Texans, the cliche goes, knows how to do things big. These days that includes vandalizing what could be a 20-mile-long version of Central Park with — what else? — a highway.The Trinity River Project is a $2.2-billion visionary effort by the Trinity Trust, a private advocacy group, to unite the city with its long-neglected river. The Read more