Ken Silverstein blows a massive hole in David Broder’s credibility right here. The trouble started with reports that Big Dave was giving speeches at political fund-raising events and lobbbyists’ conventions. Broder refused to speak to Silverstein about this, because reporters don’t have to answer questions, and, when asked about it by Washington Post omsbudsman Deborah…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Can’t stop the schadenfreude
I know that similar documents, expressing the horrors that await unwary interns in the offices of Democratic senators and representatives, surely exist, but that won’t stop me from linking to this “do’s and don’t’s” list for those brave Alaskans working for Rep. Don Young, the Republican most famous for engineering funding for the Bridge to…
Milton Coleman, a brother in the barrio
Hugo Chavez and Milton Coleman Last week, the Washington Post ran a stultifyingly stupid “essay” by Post Editor Milton Coleman, describing in absurd detail Coleman’s encounter with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Hugo’s bad-boy swagger had Coleman weak in the knees from the get-go, and nine hours later, well, let Milton tell it: “We exchanged smiles,…
Two-fisted financier, seeks someone to fist
I’ve always been a fan of capitalism, even though it sure hasn’t been making me rich these days, but if you want a picture of Wall Street’s seamy side, check out James J. Cramer’s cri de cœur, “Last One Left, Please Turn Out the Lights—Wall Street is in the midst of its biggest, ugliest, worst…
Get them by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow dept.
In Inside Higher Ed, Jack Stripling notes that Owen Cargol, until recently head of the U.S.-funded “American University of Iraq,” left his position as head of Northern Arizona University back in 2001 in part because of the publication of an email from Owen to a NAU employee describing himself as “a rub-your-belly, grab-your-balls, give-you-a-hug, slap-your-back,…
A World Without Thelonious?
Fortunately, we don’t have to face that prospect. Thelonious Monk has been in the grave for more than 20 years, but his music lives on, in dozens of his own CDs and dozens more that other musicians have recorded in honor of his genius. But how, you may ask, can one select from the dozens…
The Washington Post, Moving the Damn Goal Posts
If there’s one thing of which the Washington Post never tires, it’s predicting victory in the Iraqi war. The Post’s June 1 lead editorial is headlined “The Iraqi Upturn: Don’t look now, but the U.S.-backed government and army may be winning the war.” Well, don’t look now, but the Post may be lying again. Notice…
Turn Around And She’s Fifty
Where did the time go? OK, Monica hasn’t run up against the big Five O yet, but when she does, well, I think it might go something like this: “Linda, it’s me.” “What a surprise.” “I deserve that.” “You certainly do. Don’t you have a mother? Not to mention an attorney.” “Linda, sarcasm I don’t…
New at Bright Lights: Jean et Charlie
I have a pair of lengthy reviews in the new Bright Lights Film Journal, one of Charlie Chaplin’s least known silent feature, The Circus, and the second a detailed discussion of Jean Renoir’s masterpiece, The Rules of the Game. BL editor Gary Morris gives an overview of the new issue here. NOTE: not all BL…
Turn on, Tune in, Eat a Very Large Box of Vanilla Wafers
Over at “Reason” Magazine, editor Nick Gillespie waxes philosophical over the death of LSD synthesizer and user Albert Hofmann. According to Gillespie, also a user, “Hofmann’s ‘problem child’ (as he wryly dubbed his discovery) has been a major and generally positive influence through many aspects of society … . Blowing peoples’ minds is never an…