Legal humor here. “The last cat—or, rather, mouse—who pulled that on me got eaten. Let’s keep this rivalry at the purely symbolic level, where it belongs, shall we?” “Believe me, squirt, escalation is the last trick you’d want to try with me.” “For both our sakes, that had better be made of licorice.” “Sweetheart, stick…
Catholic Conundra: You can’t please all the people all the time, and you can’t fool all the people all the time either
As a secular humanist of Protestant descent, I’m not much of a fan of the Catholic Church. Still, I almost feel sorry for the new Pope to be, Jorge Mario Bergoglio/Francis, who’s gotten easily the least gracious welcome of any Pope that I can remember. In the past, the press was happy to go along…
Rand Paul: Tiny Stone, Mighty Splash
Never underestimate the power of the human voice. After spending 13 hours of floor time warning America of the dangers of Hellfire missiles descending upon them as they bathe, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is suddenly the toast of much, though not all, of the Republican Party. After months of aimless pummeling with the President over…
Republican Strategy: Save the Seniors, Screw the Juniors
Fault Rep. Paul Ryan’s latest budget fantasy because it cuts Medicare, and he’s got an answer: “We won the senior vote. I did dozens of Medicare town halls in states like Florida, explaining how these are the best reforms to save the shrinking Medicare program, and we are confident this is the way to go.”…
Greg Osby—“Ask Me Now,” Part 1
Greg Osby, sax; Marc Copland, piano; Nir Felder, guitar; Joseph Lepore, bass; Terri Lyne Carrington, drums. Posted by li9one
President Obama’s sweaty underwear, updated
Glenn Greenwald and Marcy Wheeler (aka “Emptywheel”) go into the legal weeds to refute, in fairly mind-numbing detail, the efforts of government lawyers/enablers David Barron and Marty Lederman to pretend that it’s OK to murder someone if they talk too much, as set forth by New York Times journalists/stenographers Mark Mazzetti, Charlie Savage, and Scott…
Pseudo-New Yorker
Legal humor here. “Jerry, this is Ork, the guy I was telling you about. He’s gotten eight guys on ‘Letterman,’ and he can get you on there too.” “Ork, this is Jerry. Jerry is the guy who’s going to change your mind about the Republican Party.” “Ork and Jerry, you don’t have to tell me…
President Obama, sweating in his underwear
One hardly knows how to take the belated tick-tock, “How a U.S. Citizen Came to Be in America’s Cross Hairs,” turned in by Mark Mazzetti, Charlie Savage, and Scott Shane in Saturday’s New York Times. Did NYT Executive Editor Jill Abramson fill Scott’s bowl with Kibbles and Bits* and then say “Okay, you guys! Get…
Why the Republican Party won’t be storming Wall Street any time soon
Oh-oh. Republican pundits are getting bored. Over at Politico, Jonathan Martin collects the moans and groans of a dozen right-wing double-domes who couldn’t get elected dog catcher in Peoria’s tamest suburb, all of them urging the GOP to, you know, push the envelope, take the initiative, and, above all, BE BOLD! Wildest of the wild…
Ramesh Ponnuru, not that innocent
After heaping praise on Ramesh yesterday, I feel it’s only my duty to point out the guy’s seamy side. As Daniel Larison, my favorite Russian Orthodox paleocon notes, Ramesh did not distinguish himself in a recent post arguing that, even after repeated electoral defeats, Republicans “have reacted by trying to kick people out rather than…