Can’t be that bad? Actually, it’s worse! If Obama is elected, Greg says, well, he just might not feel like writing as many articles as he used to. I don’t know about you, but living in a world that contains significantly fewer Greg Mankiw articles than the current one gives me the damn fantods. Here’s…
Anne Hits a Winner, Cohen Goes For the Jugular
I’ve been fairly hard on Anne Applebaum over the past few years, finding her if not actually neo-con then certainly neo-con-ish, tending to treat all foreign policy issues as a matter of toughness and will. “If we just stand up to the Russians/Taliban/Iranians/etc. then we’ll win!” The question of whether it’s worth traveling half-way around…
James Carter vs. Joshua Redman, Monk vs. Parker “Straight No Chaser”/ “Now’s the Time”
They both get a bit squeaky at times, in the tedious tradition of sax “battles,” but still this isn’t bad stuff.
The Revenge of Krugman
Paul Krugman is apparently tired of being called “shrill” while wearing his “columnist” hat, particularly, so it would seem, when the label is applied by the Washington Post’s own David S. “Massively Boring” Broder. Since I read Dave’s column on a fitful basis, I’ve never caught him in the act of dissing Paul, but presumably…
Moral Obtusities in Collision
That smacking sound you may have heard this morning was the thick head of John R. “Funny Moustache” Bolton crashing into the combined thick heads of Henry “Moral Bankruptcy” Kissinger and George “I thought he knew better” Shultz. A couple of weeks back Henry and George combined for a stunning exercise in moral evasion in…
Bob Belden Big Band plays Miles Davis’s “Milestones”
BOB BELDEN BIG BAND “Birdland” May 26, 2004 Jeremy Pelt-trumpet soloist, Joe Lovano-tenor sax soloist Seneca Black, Tony Kadleck, Ray Vega, Lew Glucken-trumpets Dave Gibson, Andre Hayward-trombones John Clark-french horn Howard Johnson-tuba Tim Ries, Charles Pillow, Mike Migliore, Ronnie Cuber, Gary Smulyan(winds) Kevin Hays-piano Derek Neyvergeld-bass Tommy Crane-drums
John McCain, vote for him Pauline Kael would not
It takes a lot to make Pauline Kael talk like Yoda, but these are parlous times. Over at the Weekly Standard, poor Bill Kristol is at such a loss for words, and sense, that he’s asking the American people to choose a President based on his taste in film! It’s true! Here’s the deal: Katie…
Parerga and Paralipomena, Updated
Paul Krugman fulfills his self-deprecation quota for the decade by linking to this Onionesque squib from Andy Borowitz: Krugman Could Turn into a Massive Douchebag, Colleagues Fear. Greg Mankiw may have already achieved massive douchebag status, but at least he’s keeping an eye what’s really important: his new book! Okay, Principles of Economics, by N….
Revolt of the Janeites—Bailin’ on Palin
That retching sound you may have noticed over the past few weeks may go down in history as “The Revolt of the Janeites”—the announcement by Jane Austen-reading Republicans that they are not, goddamnit, going to vote for the likes of Sarah Palin, not as long as it looks like she’s going to lose, anyway. So…
Blog in haste, repent in leisure. Or not.
Last Friday, I wrote a short entry, “Economics: Dismal Science or Jive-Ass Trade?”, gratuitous in tone if not in substance, that took an unkind look at, among other things, an article in the Wall Street Journal by Andrew G. Biggs And Kent Smetters, which included the following statements: “According to the Tax Policy Center, a…