I often visit the website of the National Review, to find out what “responsible conservatives” are thinking, one of the most responsible (usually) being Ramesh Ponnuru, though Ramesh, I’m sad to report, while once a fairly stout Never-Trumper, has been sliding slowly into the slough of hemi-demi-semi Never-Trumpism, where, like misery, he enjoys company. NR…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Why the Nunes memo totally sucks
If you’re looking for good taste, forget it. This blog is not for the faint of heart: others offer you candy pills; Literature R Us supplies the real dope,1 The memo issued by House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes attacks the Department of Justice and the FBI for obtaining a warrant under the Federal Intelligence…
Trump, not as bad as he could be. That is to say, not as bad as he will be
Controversy swirls, have you noticed? It does, a lot, about the FBI, about immigration, about North Korea, about everything! The world goes round, and controversy goes around. Yeah, a whole lot of controversy these days. It would be nice if we could step back and get some perspective, a balanced view, as it were, one…
JiYoung Lee New Trio— “Bemsha Swing”
Korean jazz, posted by JiYoung Lee
The good news is, he didn’t sh*t on the carpet
Well, that is good news, isn’t it? I mean, when the president of the United States sh*ts on the carpet, it’s always a downer. Always! But he didn’t do it this time! He totally didn’t do it! I mean, he barely loosened his pants! That’s the general take on General Good Trump, who mostly held…
Koch Bros pledge $400 million—because you’ve got to spend money to make money
Yes, the arms of the Kochtopus are reaching out, and gearing up, to spend $400 million on right-thinking guys and gals, first order of business being to maintain Republican majorities in both houses of Congress. “I’m more excited about what we’re doing and about the opportunities than I’ve ever been,” Charles Koch said. “We’ve made…
Hillary Clinton #notmyfavoritemartyr
I did not write a post last week entitled “100 Reasons Why I Won’t Be Watching The Grammys Next Week”, but I could have—anything from “I have a life” to “I’m 72”. However, if I had written such a post, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to say “I won’t have to listen to Hillary…
The Post? What about The Times? What about The Truth?
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks seem to be involved in a conspiracy to bore us to death with virtuous films, first with Bridge of Spies and now with The Post, films that consist almost entirely of old white people standing around and talking, a lot. Bridge of Spies is about one honest man who makes…
Stakhanovite liberalism—It’s still a thing!
“Stakhanovite1 liberalism” was a labored term of abuse worked up by the late William F. Buckley to ridicule overproducing liberals. Coal miner Alexsei Grigoryevich Stakhanov was made a “Hero of the Soviet Union” by Joseph Stalin in recognition of his exploits with a jack hammer and his example was used to encourage others to overfulfill…
The Boswells—The Perfect Escape!
Connie, Vet, and Martha, riffing on Louis Armstrong’s classic “Heebie Jeebies”, recorded in 1930.