Reason’s Matt Welch points me to three particularly pertinent paragraphs in a recent Washington Post story by Craig Whitlock bearing the head “Renditions continue under Obama, despite due-process concerns,” which perhaps should be headed “Renditions continue under Obama, because due process is not a concern.” The story is largely devoted to the continuing practice of…
Peter King, Wonderly Wroth
Well, the New Year is starting off right for me, providing the wonderful spectacle of portly Peter King, the IRA-lovin’ Republican from Noo Yawk, unloading on his fellow Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner in particular, for dissin’ the Northeast and not bothering to provide the promised $60 billion in Sandy relief cash. One could actually…
The plaint of Chait
Over at New York magazine, plaintive Jonathan Chait raises once more his plaintive plaint: “Why is Obama caving on taxes?” Yes, why, oh, why, after campaigning pretty much forever on his determination to raise taxes on those earning $250,000 a year and up, has Obama caved, for the umpteenth time in his negotiations with the…
Pseudo-New Yorker
Legal humor here. “Stop your bitchin’, girlfriend. Pedestrian medicine is here to stay, thanks to you know who. I’ve got a discount on heart murmurs that can save you real money.” “We like to keep an eye on these babies until we get them broken in. Once you get past 54th St. you’re on your…
Republicans at sea
Joe Hagan has a very funny, affectionate piece in New York Magazine on a post-election National Review cruise in the Caribbean. In lesser hands, this would be no more than shooting fish in a barrel, but with Joe it’s more an exercise in petting them. The self-selection factors operating on this crowd are, of course,…
Worst Bond Ever!
Since I refuse to write about “the Cliff,” other than by expressing the wish that the Republicans break their necks, I will write about something else, namely “Skyfall,” a James Bond movie so bad it’s worse than the Pierce Brosnan disasters of yore. I saw the very first James Bond, “Dr. No,” when it first…
The Coming Year
OK, it is a little early for New Year predictions, but nothing soothes an eggnog hangover like a little uninformed prognostication, so here goes: President Obama’s unexpectedly big win over hapless Mitt Romney continues to be a win/win/win/win. I have no idea of what’s going to happen regarding the “fiscal cliff,” and I really don’t…
Pseudo New Yorker
Legal humor here. “‘Cause baby don’t screw in a chair, that’s why.” “‘Cause the rent is too damn high, and your ass is too damn fat.” “No, Roy, you aren’t being replaced. But you are being co-opted.” “You’re a brilliant analyst, Dr. Thompson. But your ‘standing cure’ is for shit.” “This is how it works:…
The Guns of America
Over at The American Spectator, Alex Massie rumbles and roils over the meaning of Newtown and the role of guns in America: The idea of the rugged pioneer heading west with nothing but the possessions he could carry and a gun in his pack may have been romanticised out of all proportion to the tough,…
Social Security: Why the Liberals Love it Too Much
Matt Yglesias has a nice column about the “indexing” debate—what formula should be used to adjust Social Security benefits in the face of inflation, basically saying that many liberals are getting upset over little: One disturbing trend since the emergence of a plan to cut Social Security benefits via the indexing of benefits to the…