It’s true! Mr. Three Names is never, no, never! going to forgive you guys for the way you lied about the Mueller Report! Reason gal Elizabeth Nolan Ryan summarizes Bret’s cri de cœur/podcast thusly: "I want to state that I am not a Republican, I am not a conservative, I am not part of the…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Lucio Dalla quartet—“Blue Monk”
Featuring Stefano Di Battista. Unfortunately, that’s all the information I’ve got. Posted by ilproiettore
Can trade wars today lead to shooting wars tomorrow? With Donald Trump in charge, we may not have to wait!
It’s true: Donald Trump is getting awfully bored. The whole Mueller thing, which looked like it was going to be so much fun, has gone flatter than that liter bottle of malt liquor you opened last night and forgot to finish. Where’s the sparkle? Where’s the punch? I got up this morning planning to start…
Uh, so I guess it was just LARGELY about the Benjamins
Last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, which I did not know really still existed, had an impressive article by Nathan Thrall, “How the Battle Over Israel and Anti-Semitism Is Fracturing American Politics”, which, shockingly enough, confirms about half of what the notorious Ilhan Omar had to say about Jews, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee…
Mona Charon, speaking truth to Republicans
Kudos to the National Review, which I generally do not like, for publishing Mona Charon’s column, “Shades of Presidential Scandals Past”, which tosses more than a few solid punches at the “Move along, folks, move along, nothing to see here, move along” approach being fostered and foisted by most of her compadres at NR regarding…
TV or not TV? Isn’t there a third option?
I’ve already argued that the pickings at the multiplex are pretty slim, nor am I a fan of what I have labeled “Heavy TV”, disliking it so much I had to write a sequel to my original putdown.1 My appetite, such as it was, for the doings of sadistic serial killers is pretty much exhausted,…
Robert Kagan writes an interesting essay, with some stretchers, and not a few omissions
In one way, Robert Kagan’s recent “long-form” (7,000 words) essay in the Washington Post, “The strongmen strike back”, is an honest, intelligent examination of the rise of illiberalism in the modern world, a phenomenon as incontestable as it is dispiriting. In another way, Bob’s latest and longest is a bit of a con job, and…
China could be as bad as the U.S., Fred Kaplan warns
Well, it’s true. Over at Slate, the rarely Trumpian Fred Kaplan says that Trump’s ban on purchases of equipment from giant Chinese telecom firm Huawei using federal funds makes sense: The problem is that those wares are also potential backdoors for Chinese intelligence. If Huawei gains a foothold in the burgeoning market of 5G networks…
Livin’ the life in sunny USC
The Washington Post has a piece on USC, epicenter of the “pay for class” college admissions scandal. USC is often described/ridiculed as a playground for rich kids, and the Post says there’s plenty to back up the stereotype: There is, to be sure, plenty of privilege. Campus restaurants serve acai bowls, poke and salmon salads….
“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” played twice
Back in the day, Jerome Kern provided the score for what was once the most famous musical on Broadway, Showboat. He did plenty of other excellent shows, including Roberta, made into a film now (mostly) famous for being the third, and one of the best, of the eight films that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers…