Brad Rourke

Brad Rourke’s Blog

  • You Lose

    This article first appeared in Pajamas Media. My middle school daughter has announced that her new favorite president is Calvin Coolidge. I do not believe it is due to his business-first approach to the Roaring Twenties. My daughter, herself a girl of few words, admires “Silent Cal” for his terseness. Would that this quality were…

  • Your Words Hurt Me

    The article first appeared (in slightly different form) in Pajamas Media. Much is being written at the moment about a list of no-no words circulated by an office of the Army. Compiled by someone with expertise in equal opportunity matters, the list purports to be 76 examples of words that simply should not be used…

  • Stop The Presses: Writing In The Internet Age

    This article first appeared in Pajamas Media Just a couple of days ago, I sought in vain for a “recall” function on my email application. Of course there was none. My message had already been delivered, to the wrong recipient and containing thoughts I wished it hadn’t. That person had sent me a note earlier,…

  • Hack This Vote

    This article first appeared in Pajamas Media. I used to work in politics. It was unglamorous, but one thing it seemed to do in the eyes of my friends was give me the sheen of knowledge. People would call me as Election Day approached and ask me, “Who should I vote for?” My days of…

  • Hard, Ain't It Hard

    This column first appeared (with a different title) in Pajamas Media. There’s not much I do that’s actually difficult anymore. It didn’t used to be that way. When I applied to colleges, it was suggested to me that I create a number of tiers of schools: the long-shots, the probables, and the back-ups. I collected…

  • Hard, Ain’t It Hard

    This column first appeared (with a different title) in Pajamas Media. There’s not much I do that’s actually difficult anymore. It didn’t used to be that way. When I applied to colleges, it was suggested to me that I create a number of tiers of schools: the long-shots, the probables, and the back-ups. I collected…

  • Learners Are People, Too

    This article first appeared in Pajamas Media. On an airplane last week, I found myself seated behind the president of a large municipal school board along with a staffer. I know this because I am only human and could not help but peruse the board member’s briefing book over the owner’s shoulder. They were on…

  • The Pressure of High Anxiety

    This article first appeared in Pajamas Media. They say Americans are under more pressure than ever these days. Students must pass high-stakes tests in order to graduate. Competition to get into top-tier universities is crushing. The middle class is squeezed economically. Schedules are hectic. Commutes brutal. It’s just harder and harder to get by. This…

  • Taxonomy of Hotel Internet

    I’ve been travelling again. It’s got me thinking about different kinds of hotel internet access: I see four basic kinds: Just plain on — This is great, but unusual. Walk into the hotel room, flip on your laptop, find wireless network, connect, go. Free but signup — Courtyard by Marriott has this. It’s quite good.…