Only in America would a woman who outpolled her opponent by close to three million votes be declared a “loser”. That is to say, only a woman running for president, because in every other election in the U.S.—and there are, of course, thousands—the person with the most votes wins. But because Hillary Clinton was running…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Thelonious Monk—“Well, You Needn’t”
Okay, enough of “Straight, No Chaser” for awhile. Now I’m going to be doing “Well, You Needn’t” for a month or two. Thelonious Monk, piano. Charlie Rouse, tenor sax; Larry Gales, bass; and Ben Riley, drums. Posted by Ilana X.
One for Bob
I lambasted, pretty much, Robert Samuelson last week for a dumb-ass column he wrote claiming that we don’t spend enough on defense. Well, this week, Bob gets it right, in a column praising President Obama’s handling of the Great Recession, which was in fact his greatest achievement, though not quite great enough to allow Hillary…
Passing the buck: Smith to DeLong to Krugman
Writing in Bloomberg View, Noah Smith offers Four Ways to Help the Midwest, prompting Brad DeLong to go off on a bit of a tangent, musing about “Regional Policy and Distributional Policy in a World Where People Want to Ignore the Value and Contribution of Knowledge- and Network-Based Increasing Returns” (aka “the Human Condition”), causing…
Yes, [INSERT NAME] is an idiot. This week’s winner, Robert Samuelson!
Yes, we do have a winner, as we always do. Bob takes home this week’s trophy for obsequiousness to the Pentagon above and beyond the call of duty, and in the face of all economic sense (his area of expertise, supposedly). After attacking fellow Postman Bob Woodward (for suggesting that the Pentagon could save $25…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here “Out here, sonny boy, we signal for a left-hand turn!” “In Wyoming, a three-wheeler is technically a motorcycle, so this here license ain’t worth a damn. And, yes, I do get a kick out of busting you Montana fancy-pants.” “You city boys may not give a damn about Gaia, but we do!”…
Things the Washington Post thinks I might want to buy
A grout brush; a “Carbon Express” crossbow; and some Pampers. Jeff Bezos, you might update your software. Soon.
Michael V. Hayden, mightily covering ass
Michael V. Hayden, you may be interested to know, is currently a principal at the Chertoff Group and visiting professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, and was formerly director of the National Security Agency from 1999 to 2005 and the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006 to 2009. He has a…
Why did Comey fold?
Glen Thrush has a “nice” look-back at the 2016 presidential campaign (nice if you have the stomach to revisit what for me is a gaping wound) up at Politico, “10 crucial decisions that reshaped America”. Near the end of the piece, commenting on Hillary’s reluctance to engage in non-stop campaigning (in part, one suspects, a…
Army beats Navy! Is the War on Terror officially over?
OK, this is a bit speculative—not Donald Trump “speculative,” but out there—but still. Even though the acceptance rate at Annapolis is only one percentage point below that of West Point’s—8% versus 9%—isn’t it at least possible that top athletes who thought they might have a shot at some sort of post-military service career (like, you…