Opinion Today: Couched in History

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September 27, 2010 Opinion Today

Living Rooms Couched in History By JOAN DEJEAN A short history of two essential pieces of living room furniture. Futher Improbables By DICK CAVETT A continuing examination of the long odds that anyone, from Plato to Sinatra, has of actually existing. The Thread Of Punching Hippies and Jumping Ship By TOBIN HARSHAW As several Obama insiders leave the White House, progressive bloggers are saying, "good riddance." ADVERTISEMENT Room for Debate Why More Students Rely on Tutors By THE EDITORS Has high school become harder or are students seeking extra help to beat the competition? Bloggingheads Abolish the Estate Tax? Annie Lowrey of The Washington Independent and Reihan Salam of National Review debate the estate tax. Dot Earth 'Gathering Storm' Approaching Category 5 By ANDREW C. REVKIN The country's intellectual infrastructure is still eroding, a new report finds. Schott's Vocab Cut and Paste By BEN SCHOTT This weekend, co-vocabularists have generously shared words and phrases so frozen they are straight from the ice-box. ADVERTISEMENT Get home delivery of The New York Times for as low as $3.15 a week.

Evaluations The Case Against the Pledge By ROSS DOUTHAT Why I'm still disappointed with it. Conscience of a Liberal Authenticity By PAUL KRUGMAN Lack of personal interest? So what? On the Ground An Aside on Contraception By NICHOLAS KRISTOF Why is contraceptive research so under-funded? And why don't pharmaceutical companies invest more in developing new kinds of contraceptives? A few ideas... Freakonomics on NYTimes.com The authors Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubner and guest contributors blog about the hidden side of the economy. Read More » Today's Columns Paul Krugman: Structure of Excuses Ross Douthat: The Seduction of the Tea Partiers ADVERTISEMENT

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