The sad thing is Marc Ambinder is not an idiot, which is why his snappy little item, “5 truths about the drone war,” is so disappointing. First of all, and largely tangential to my major point, the “5 myths/5 truths” gambit is, 95 percent of the time, a lazy piece of punitory padding and jiggery-pokey,…
President Obama, Man of Mystery
“Man of mystery” as in “where does he get this stuff”? In an interview on Israeli TV last Thursday, our Prez informs us that “Right now, we think it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don’t want to cut it too close.” Well,…
Coulter hath zeppo: why recondite pop cultural riffs are best left eschewed, even before sympathetic audiences
The redoubtable Ann Coulter, speaking before a no-doubt raucous CPAC crowd, unleashed the following zinger, or perhaps zenger, on Saturday night: I can see why Democrats would want amnesty, but why on earth are Marco Rubio and these endless Bushes supporting it? Even Shemp and Zippo Bush are supporting amnesty for illegals. Now, who doesn’t…
Pseudo-New Yorker
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…