Liberals like to think big. They like to think “comprehensive.” Whenever you read a liberal “big picture” plan, you will read thorough discussions of the various aspects of the problem to be solved, along with the appropriate solutions, and then you will get the kicker: you can’t address these problems separately; you have to do…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. “Your Harry is a real brother-in-law’s brother-in-law, Dolores. How much is it going to cost me to get rid of this thing?” “Well, they’re back. That ‘Farewell to Fungus’ crap didn’t do a damn bit of good.” “Damn kids! Where’s the rest of him? I paid good money for that!” “What part…
Big Picture Bullshit
Apostate Republican David Frum and apostate jerk* Robert Samuelson both back the camera up from the current fray di DC to give us the big picture. Says Frum: Why are American politicians playing so rough? We have moved into an era of scarcity. Once it seemed possible to have the spending Democrats wanted, financed at…
O Lucky Obama!
A few weeks ago—or was it a few lifetimes?—I was remarking that it couldn’t be possible that President Obama could slide out of an utterly gratuitous, entirely self-inflicted mini-war with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with the help of Vladimir Putin, but that’s exactly what happened. But of course that was only a warm-up. Now the…
Government Spending, the Climate Change of the Tea Party Right
To function properly in Washington, everyone needs a bogyman. One of the first things a newcomer learns in the nation’s capital is that the Chinese ideogram for “danger” also means “opportunity.” Whether this ubiquitous device exists anywhere outside the text for Motivational Speaking 101 is a moot point. What is not a moot point—what is…
The Mighty Whippoorwills: Bright Mississippi
A funk version of “Bright Mississippi”/”Sweet Georgia Brown,” inspired by the Allen Toussaint version. Featuring Michael Gomez, guitar and vocals; Rich Huntley, drums; Debbie Kennedy, acoustic bass; Randy Weinstein,- chomatic, diatonic harmonica and vocals; recorded by Alex Goren. Posted by Randy Weinstein.
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. “Of course you don’t get it. If you got it, this wouldn’t be happening.” “There’s only room for one bespectacled, pin-striped tight-ass in this office, and you’re looking at him.” “Welcome to the NRA, homeboy.” “Paybacks are hell, babycakes.” “Just think of it as your personal version of the Anderson account.” “Yes…
They’d none of them be missed
A week or so I tried to dismiss two former SecDefs (Gates and Panetta), who should be both gone and forgotten, using the headline “They’ll none of them be missed,” which led me to go on YouTube and look up performances of the Gilbert and Sullivan tune “I’ve Got a Little List” (aka “As Some…
Judith Shulevitz, so not a scientist
Judith Shulevitz, crackerjack gal o’ many opinions at the New Republic, has a piece in the print version of the Oct. 21issue (which I’ll link to as soon as it’s online) deploring the failure of the recent “36-page summary of a report about to come out from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change” to…
Smashing Time
Dave Weigel has a nice piece over at Slate explaining why the Tea Party Republicans in the House won’t negotiate with Obama. Because they think he’s lying, about everything. Everything that anyone in the Executive Branch says about the government shutdown and the debt ceiling is a lie. In fact, any statement, by any expert,…