FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2022See you in September: BREAKING! Croatia has defeated Brazil, 1-1, in a high-scoring World Cup match.Even stranger are the recent twin anomalies from the world of the NFL:On Monday night, Tampa Bay defeated New Orleans, 17-16. In the game's first 55 minutes … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2022Our own blue tribe's own goals: We vaguely remember the very first time we heard about "thunder words."We were a senior at Aragon High. For reasons we can't recall, we were taught about the existence of those words in our AP World Literature class.Luckily, … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2022Except for matters like this: It's long been a staple of mainstream punditry:The American people are pretty sharp! Pundits have uttered this bromide for decades, but it ain't necessarily true.When a person isn't entirely sharp, that doesn't necessarily m … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2022The possible role of our frameworks: Our endless Election Day is over, and Senator Warnock won.He won re-election by something like 3.5 points. In this morning's New York Times, Gail Collins ponders the meaning of that somewhat narrow victory margin:COLL … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2022Georgia's runoff system: In a new report, the Washington Post describes a peculiarity of Georgia's runoff election system. The report may be a bit misleading. That's especially true of its headline:Drop in Republican turnout means a bigger win for Warno … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2022James Joyce's books can't be read: In the film with the title shown below really the greatest film of all time?Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 BruxellesIs that really the greatest film? Is that 1975 film "great" in any way at all? Because we … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2022It no longer seems like a newspaper: At one time, it was our practice—we'd start the day with a trip to two (2) different daily newspapers.We still start at the New York Times. Then, we go to the online Washington Post—and we're no longer sure where we ar … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2022...what makes Jeanne Dielman so great: We'll admit it—we're still amused by the revelation that the greatest film ever made is the 1975 Belgian film which bears this somewhat unwieldy title:Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 BruxellesAs we noted y … | Continue reading
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022But also, West and Trump: Donald J. Trump has now declared that the United States Constitution should be "terminated."Hold on though—it gets even dumber than that! Kanye West has now declared that Hitler wasn't so bad after all. Also, there's the way the M … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2022But did the essay make sense? In a more perfect world, we Americans would know the full, or at least the fuller, history of the so-called Americas—of North America and South America, before Columbus and after.For those in search of such wider knowledge we' … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022It looks like the Washington Post: What does performative virtue look like? More specifically, performative anti-racism? The attempt to pretend, to others or perhaps to yourself, that you actually care about matters of race?We'd say that one such perform … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022Then too, there's his point of view: As we've noted in the past few days, David Silverman strikes us as a highly erudite scholar.He also strikes us as someone with a bit of a point of view. Needless to say, there's nothing wrong with having a point of vi … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022A portrait of disorder: Yesterday, we mentioned the fact that Rachel Maddow played video clips of Nick Fuentes on her weekly show Monday night. Today, we can offer you this link to those video clips.Watching him on videotape, Fuentes strikes us as tran … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022Enslavement around the world: According to experts with whom we've consulted, Thanksgiving occurred last week. (Except of course in Canada, where things always happen first.)Despite our current difficulties, we Americans did have certain things we coul … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022Right there on our TV machine: We lost a chunk of time today, then watched the soccer game. With apologies, we thought we'd offer a list of things we saw on TV last night.First, we watched the opening segment of Tucker Carlson Tonight. We saw the program … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022A deeply brutal history: Especially as judged by contemporary standards, the history of the western hemisphere is a vicious and bloody affair. Consider the contents of an exchange we viewed over the Thanksgiving weekend. The exchange was part of a broad … | Continue reading
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022A Washington Post alert: We'll admit that we retain our fascination with the headlong devolution of the (online) Washington Post.As our culture moves post-truth, are we also moving in the direction of post-newspaper? Consider what we found when we journey … | Continue reading
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022A deeply painful framework: Thanksgiving is the cruelest month! In his famous poem, Eliot simply wasn't willing to acknowledge this painful fact!We came to this painful realization over the recent holidays. In particular, we came to this realization as we … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022...according to Tucker Carlson: The front page of today's New York Times includes this instructive report:An Ancient Language, Once on the Brink, Is a British Isle’s Talk of the Town At issue is the ancient language Manx, which is apparently making a come … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2022Defeating Coach Vermeil: Earlier today, we got to thinking about Thanksgiving Day football. More precisely, we got to thinking about Thanksgiving Day high school football—and, inevitably, about defeating Coach Vermeil.We'd been raised on a great Thank … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2022...as one tale replaces another? We'll bite! What are schoolkids told today—or perhaps, permitted to learn on their own—about the so-called First Thanksgiving?Let's take it one step further! What do school kids know today about the state of "the Americ … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2022Our blue tribe's scripts today: In recent weeks, we've often thought of the gloomy ending to Paul Simon's widely-acclaimed album, Graceland.The album appeared in 1986. It interwove two storylines. The dominant story concerned the way the people of the wo … | Continue reading
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2022Overwhelmingly boring, but safe: How should kids in Virginia, or anywhere else, be taught American history? In truth, it's very hard to devise a grade school curriculum, especially at such polarized times as these. We think we recall the way we were taugh … | Continue reading
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2022The demographication rules: We're told that Thanksgiving occurs this week, presumably on a Thursday.Inevitably, that meant it was time for the Washington Post to publish a certain, currently mandated glimmer and intimation.We refer to the lengthy news rep … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2022Nicolle Wallace fakes it on schools: It was Thursday afternoon. midway through the 4 o'clock hour. Nicolle Wallace kick-started two segments of "cable news" fakery as shown:WALLACE (11/17/22): Outrage today, from Virginia educators and Democrats, over w … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2022An offshoot of Trump Trump Jail: We've never exactly understood the criminal trial now underway in Manhattan.In this criminal trial, the Trump Organization is charged with crimes. But Donald J. Trump isn't charged those crimes, and neither is anyone else! … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2022The demographication of everything: Just for the record, there's absolutely nothing wrong with David Von Drehle's smarts.Von Drehle is one of (roughly) three million columnists for the Washington Post. That said, there is exactly nothing wrong with the sc … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2022A TV star will be mentioned: We're going to be off-campus this morning. We'll be posting today's report in mid-afternoon—at something like 2 o'clock.Please return to this site at that time. Lassie will be mentioned! | Continue reading
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022Nova does it again: Which is larger? The number of plain old "counting numbers" (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and the like) or the number of even counting numbers (2, 4, 6 and the like)?We're sorry to tell you that the PBS program, Nova, was noodling around with th … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022One way in particular: Michael Wolff wrote three best-selling books about the presidency of Donald J. Trump.In this morning's New York Times, Wolff writes a guest essay about the newly-emerged Candidate Trump-All-Over-Again. Wolff's essay carries this h … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2022California lollygaggin': Why does it take California so long to count its freaking votes?In just the past few hours, CNN has published a report on that topic. So has the New York Times. For our money, the Times does a better job with the question. That … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2022The need to peel away votes: As of last night, the suspense is finally over. Donald Trump has finally said that he's running again!In their report in the New York Times, Bennett and Haberman refer to the former president's "unusually early announcement … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022An anthropology question: In this morning's New York Times, Jazmine Ulloa provides some (fairly standard) background on Kari Lake:ULLOA (11/15/22): Former friends and colleagues of Ms. Lake described her as a liberal and a Buddhist who had a close circle … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022Dullest knives in the drawer: The important news report was published by the modern incarnation of Slate. People who clicked to read the report had, in effect, been Schwedeled:Why yes, Tiffany Trump's Wedding Was the Most Tiffany Trump Event of All TimeT … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022Also, Maggie Hassan beat Bolduc: In some ways, this is a day for blue tribe celebration.A political bullet has been dodged. In this morning's New York Times, Bret Stephens and Gail Collins breathe a sigh of relief:Bret Stephens: Gail, remember the old Ro … | Continue reading
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2022Attention should be paid: Our nation is absorbed with its first-world problems, as in this HELP DESK report on the front page of the online Washington Post:Baby boomers can’t stop staring at their phonesFor today, we're going to stay where we were yesterd … | Continue reading
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2022...we recalled what a teenager knew: We had a plan for yesterday's DAILY HOWLER—but then, we encountered the front page of yesterday's New York Times.On that front pager, we encountered "Sarah Cuauro, just 6 years old." Our day largely ended here, headlin … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022Wisconsin's wasted votes: Just how large was the turnout for this year's elections?As you may have heard, the counting continues! At the Cook Report's House Vote Tracker, here's the current tabulation of votes for the two major parties in the 435 House ra … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022Some parts of The Crazy don't leave: At some point, the fever fueling the Tulip Craze finally broke.Today, it's sometimes called the Tulip Mania. The leading authority on the craze thumbnails it as shown:Tulip mania was a period during the Dutch Golden Ag … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022Tired of all the success: Very frankly, we've begun to get tired of all the winning.This morning, we noted the fact that Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) was trailing, if by a narrow margin, in her bid for re-election.A few hours later, she's gone ahead, by … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022Where did the red wave go? The colloquy appears on the OPINION page of this morning's New York Times, under a ROUND TABLE heading.The headline gives voice to a cheerful possibility. That headline posits this:‘We May Have Reached the Limit of Crazy That … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2022This too is human nature: We weren't there last night, but Dana Milbank was.He was in Scottsdale, at the Arizona GOP's presumptive victory party. Kari Lake still might win that state's gubernatorial race, but she was trailing slightly last night, and Bl … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2022The memorized and the glib: We tuned in a few minutes early to today's Morning Joe. For that reason, we saw Jonathan Capehart—a good, decent person—offer this assessment of what happened in this year's elections:The American people are a whole lot smart … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2022In search of more wins at the polls: We lost a chunk of time today, Plus, Election Day is finally upon us.For those reasons, we're going to start with the same list we posted yesterday. It's Kevin Drum's list of seven ways we liberals are supposedly seen … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2022Plus, Motherless Child gone wild: According to more than a dozen experts, The Crazy has been a part of human life ever since our species came into existence.At the present time, manifestations of The Crazy suffuse our nation's politics. As an example of w … | Continue reading
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2022Kevin Drum's seven ideas: Tomorrow night, we'll start to learn who won this year's elections.For now, a quick review:The Democratic Party's candidates have won the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. That dates back to Bill Clin … | Continue reading
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2022Concerning Kyrie's link: Ignore the things you've always been told about "the rational animal."Forget all that "rational animal" stuff! The Crazy has relentlessly played a leading role in our war-suffused human affairs. No one died in the Tulip Craze, thou … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2022Werewolves of Gotham, ah-ooh: Is it true? Do suburban women hold the key to this year's elections?That fuzzy claim appears, or possibly just seems to appear, on the front page of this morning's New York Times. Online, the headline on the report says this … | Continue reading