Ross Douthat has some interesting/amusing thoughts on Pope Francis I, who it appears is scaring conservatives by talking as though he doesn’t hate homos as much as he ought to. Ross is pretty agnostic, so to speak, on the whole homo thing, but he kind of likes the idea of a pope who pisses conservatives…
Reid Wilson, not getting it, and not getting that he’s not getting it
Over at Slate, Dave Wiegel, whom I usually enjoy, links without irony to the National Journal’s Reid Wilson, who files a heartfelt moan titled “When Washington Forgot How To Negotiate Dispute over the farm bill is a textbook example of the dysfunction within Congress.” Speaking of the farm bill debacle, Wilson explains the current Democratic/Republican…
Compared to what?
There have been endless columns and discussions about our slow recovery from the Great Recession, and our recovery has been slow and the recession was great, and we should be doing better, and I take the Krugmanesque position that a bigger stimulus package would have left us in better shape, but. Yes, but. But why…
And Obama as well
At the New Republic, John Judis has a nice take on the not quite as outrageous as it could have been trial of Bradley Manning (no more than 64 years in the stockade instead of life), titled “Meanwhile, Cheney Goes Fishing.” Because, in the reign of Bush/Obama, those who expose the crime do the time.
Chris Christie, suddenly my least favorite fat New Jersey Republican
I’ve been known to say both kind and unkind things about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, but last week’s performance earned the big guy a whole year of lazy, tasteless fat jokes. Denouncing the recent, shocking trend among certain “libertarian” types in the Republican Party to consider the endless violations of our civil liberties by…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. “You’re damn right I meant ‘that kind of foursome’!” “Those clubs better be sterile, girlfriend.” “No, sweetheart. Gallbladder first, then the fairway.” “Ferguson, do you enjoy being the face of American medicine?” “Yes, we damn well mind if you play through! Some of us don’t push botox for a living!” “I don’t…
Retired Air Force general accuses Air Force of telling the truth
That’s about the size of it. Retired Air Force Gen. Ronald Fogleman, who was Air Force chief of staff back in the Nineties, has blasted the Air Force for, basically, telling Congress what it doesn’t want to hear. Last year, the Air Force gave Congress its wish list, asking for substantial funding for active duty…
Words, Words, Words
I’m working my way up to writing a long piece on James Thurber, a writer who was a constant companion of my childhood. I recently tracked down one of his more obscure works, The Beast in Me and Other Animals, discovering as I did so that it includes a handful of “Talk of the Town”…
The Wall Street Journal sends up a flair
In the course of an article about political protest in North Carolina, Wall Street Journal editorial board member and senior economics writer Stephen Moore takes on Rev. William Barber II, “a loquacious, likable and politically shrewd preacher and leader of the North Carolina NAACP.” Moore describes Barber’s reaction to proposed changes to North Carolina’s election…
Bemsha Swing
Al McLean – Tenor Saxophone, Jaleel Shaw – Alto Saxophone, Bryn Roberts – Piano, Jason Davis – Bass. Posted by Randy Cole.