Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:41:49 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mr. X :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Mr.+X istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us Mr. X http://www.nysun.com/opinion/awfully-quiet-on-the-west-side/62350/ Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST Listen. You can hear it. A strange silence has descended upon my neighborhood. It is everywhere, and it is very unsettling. Three years ago in the midst of another election cycle, I wrote about the mindless, lockstep nature of politics on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I talked about the great irony of the people who consider themselves to be the most tolerant folks on earth, but who are not at all tolerant if someone has the audacity to diverge from the party line. Three years ago, I told... Mr. X http://www.nysun.com/opinion/great-disconnect/17054/ Fri, 15 Jul 2005 00:00:00 EST Something came up this week that reminded me of an experience I had in college in the late 1960s. Trust me, I'm not making this stuff up. There were many rallies on the library mall in those days, but one stands out in my memory because at this particular event we were graced with the presence of a famous celebrity radical. Because of that, there was an even larger crowd than usual. This fellow arrived and quickly got everyone charged up with fiery rhetoric along with calls for revolution. But... Mr. X http://www.nysun.com/opinion/mr-x-agonistes/12887/ Wed, 27 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST Five months after the election, the acrimony seems to have died down - at least on the surface. I still see the occasional poster in various apartments from Broadway to Columbus. There are the random Kerry-Edwards buttons (worn for protest or pride), but for the most part, it's quiet. Some of it can even be humorous. I was on the subway last week when my child, who is becoming a great reader, noticed a young woman next to us wearing a button that said: "I Only Sleep With Democrats." Of course... Mr. X http://www.nysun.com/opinion/mr-xs-neighborhood/5166/ Mon, 22 Nov 2004 00:00:00 EST Perhaps, in the end, it's all about manners. Let me explain. A week before the election, I dropped off my daughter at that very progressive elementary school on the Upper West Side. The mother of one of her classmates walked by wearing one of those buttons that said "Bush-Cheney" with an X through it. My daughter was confused. She understands the concept of the X through a name, having seen these buttons all over our neighborhood this fall. But she's just learning how to read and she mistakenly... Mr. X http://www.nysun.com/opinion/what-id-really-like-to-hear/3638/ Fri, 22 Oct 2004 00:00:00 EST As you may recall [New York Sun, "Living in a Closet," September 8, 2004], I'll be voting at my Upper West Side polling station for President Bush on November 2.And as we all found out from the response to that earlier piece, it appears I will not be alone [New York Sun, Letters, September 15].I was heartened to read the many articulate writers out there who argued with facts and common sense to make their points, sometimes with wit and humor, and dispensed with knee-jerk jingoism. Thank you... Mr. X http://www.nysun.com/opinion/living-in-a-closet/1403/ Wed, 8 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EST You know me. If you don't, you've seen me...eating dinner in a midtown restaurant or walking up Broadway on a Saturday morning or sitting at the playground in the park as my child climbs the monkey bars. I take the subway to work every morning like thousands of other New Yorkers. I shop at Fairway and Zabar's. Maybe you've even been sweating on the next treadmill at the gym. I look like a hundred other guys around my age. I dress like them, too. And if you saw me, you would never guess my...