Headline reading is fascinating, fun, and maddening . . . but what I notice most with my own headline data-mining is how the news travels from East to West — the English-speaking news that is, much of which is controlled (as we all know) by one individual’s empire. So in the empire’s origin — Australia — the U.S. “clings” to affirmative action; whereas in New Zealand it’s more accurately “struck down,” and then by the time you reach London it’s “gutted.” But affirmative action is not a baby, or a needy dependent, or a fish – and history is not just what happened over 50 years ago. It’s all about IMPLEMENTATION — the title of Aaron Wildavsky’s famous book that I read decades ago and never forgot . . .
Ruth Frick O'Brien 