Well there probably is one, but his name isn’t Donald Trump. But over at The National Interest, Leon Hadar assures us that the Donald is indeed Bismarck with a conk1. Here’s how Leon spins his vision of “TrumPolitik”: “TrumpPolitik would certainly place more emphasis on strengthening U.S. relationship with the big powers of the world,…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Literature R Us is new and improved!
Well, newish. If you’re looking for visible changes in the site, there aren’t any. But I have added my latest novel, Traveling North: The Education of Alice Barnstable, to the “Books” page. You can read the first chapter of Alice and then, if you’re so inclined, click on a link that will take you to…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here “Let’s get one thing straight, Larry. Yeah, we act alike, we dress alike, we even look alike. Sure. But we don’t think alike. Upstairs, I’m my own man, you got that? I’m my own man! Like, totally.” “So, anyway, a priest, a minister, and a rabbi go into a bar, and the…
Thelonious Monk—“Round Midnight”
Footage taken of Old Man Monk playing his signature tune in 1969, from a strange, messed-up documentary. Monk was not happy, not feeling well, but the fingers, and the spirit, still worked. Posted by Miguel Tuna
War with Iran? You bet! It’s easy, and it’s fun!
A kinder, gentler Trump Administration? I think you meant “fascist-hysterical”. Thanks to the appointments of former Lieutenant Gen. Mike “Fear of Muslims is rational” Flynn as national security advisor and Rep. Mike “Waterboarding is cool” Pompeo as head of the CIA, we are just about guaranteed a repeat of the war on Iraq—constant accusations of…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here “For God’s sake, Harry! You know damn well who farted!” “I don’t care if you ignore the elephant! Stop ignoring me! “He isn’t my elephant! He’s our elephant! “He’s lonely, damn it! Can’t you see that? And they aren’t that expensive!” “You know what your problem is, Harry? You’re all elephant and…
Did Obama “Create” Trump? No. Did he make his election possible? Sort of.
President Obama did not create the candidacy of Donald Trump. “Responsible” Republicans like Ross Douthat have been pushing that banal meme since the Donald first reared his ugly head back in the primaries, a falsehood that received a proper beat down from Slate’s William Saletan at the time. As Bill put it, “Obama is an…
Is there a silver lining to Trump’s victory? Probably not.
Well, maybe there is, if we’re incredibly lucky. And since we’ve been so incredibly unlucky recently, aren’t we due, just maybe, for a crop of four-leaf clovers? I won’t think about all the bad things that are incredibly likely to happen under Trump, because if I do think about them I’ll start screaming, and my…
Shelly Manne—“Straight, No Chaser”
The West Coast Scene, before the Beatles fucked things up. LA disc jockey Frank Evans hosts drummer Shelly Manne, along with Conte Candoli (trumpet), Richie Kamuca (tenor sax), Russ Freeman (piano), and Monte Budwig (bass). Posted by FranklyJazzTV
Yes, Donald Trump will deport millions of people! Yes, he’ll start a trade war with China! Yes, he’ll tear up the nuclear deal with Iran! Any more dumb questions?
The haters are in charge of immigration “reform”, Sahil Kapur reports for Bloomberg Politics. President-elect Trump has chosen for his transition team the notorious Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, author of Arizona’s “Papers, Please” law, which allows police to stop anyone they suspect of being in the U.S. illegally. Hey, no danger of racial…