Rep. Paul Ryan has a great idea for getting the U.S. budget in shape. He’ll cut tax rates, and Democrats will decide which tax write-offs to eliminate. “Everything will be on the table,” Rep. Paul says, and he means everything. If the Democrats want to eliminate deductability of health insurance costs, home mortgages, tuition, he’ll…
Author: Alan Vanneman
The Uncanny, Albeit Intermittent, Perspicacity of Alan Vanneman
I admit it. I can be perspicacious. A case in point is the television career of Jessica Paré, aka Megan Draper on AMC’s Mad Men. When Megan first appeared as Don’s new secretary, I thought she was too fucking gorgeous to be just a secretary. As soon as I knew she was French, I knew…
New at Bright Lights: Funny Face
Audrey Hepburn can walk on air, but the film rarely does so. Still, there are a few moments. My review is here. Whole issue, not terribly safe for work, is here.
What we talk about when we drink $350 bottles of wine
Over at the New Criterion, a site I should really stop visiting, Charles Murray, about whom I should probably stop writing, has a piece that, well, that I’m writing about, called, for whatever reason, Future tense, IX: Out of the wilderness.* Murray’s springboard is a book he published back in 2004, Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit…
Colin Powell is a large, overweight liar
Over at Tiny Revolution, Jon Schwarz does yeoman work in exposing what an egregious, not to say four-star, liar Colin Powell is, both in his recent book, It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership, and elsewhere. In his book, the large general harrumphs* re his abysmal 2003 presentation at the UN, giving to the…
Jon Gordon and Bill Charlap—“Bye-Ya”
Jon Gordon and Bill Charlap duo performing Bye-Ya Live at the Jazz Baltica Festival 2001. Posted by jongordonmusic
Pseudo-New Yorker
Legal humor here. “Le divan, c’est moi, n’est-ce pas?” “Good! Kitty needs a new scratching post!” For a moment, Gerald became as one with the sofa, just before Eunice called the movers. “Ha! Fooled you! That’s the old remote. From now on, Gerald, we’ll be watching nothing but the Lifetime channel.” “Would it upset you…
Jamie Dimon, seriously in need of a third hand*
“Paul Volcker by his own admission has said he doesn’t understand capital markets. He has proven that to me,” famously sneered JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon earlier this year, irritated by Volcker and his “Volcker Rule” that claims that banks should not be allowed unlimited scope in engaging in “risk management.” Well, that was, you…
The offensive Ms. Riley
The recent forced departure of Naomi Schaefer Riley from the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Brainstorm” blog has provoked a good measure of criticism in the blog world. Naomi was bounced, of course, for posting a comment that began “You’ll have to forgive the lateness but I just got around to reading The Chronicle’s recent piece…
So unnecessary, Mitt. Totally.
“Back in high school I did some dumb things and if anybody was hurt by that or offended by that I apologize.”—Mitt “the Enforcer” Romney Why, Mitt? How could anyone be hurt or offended simply because a gang of yahoos held him down and forcibly cut his hair? No one’s that big of a pussy,…