THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2022Only one question remains: With apologies for the interruption in services, we were called away, once again, from our sprawling campus this morning.That leaves us looking ahead to tonight, when the committee debuts.In our view, the committee is staring at on … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2022Shouldn't we try to find out? Last week, we noted a somewhat discouraging electoral fact. Uvalde County, Texas is roughly three-quarters Hispanic. But in the 2020 election, Candidate Trump beat Candidate Biden there by just over twenty points.Given certain … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2022The Post slides toward the sea: Let the word go forth to the nations. Your incomparable Daily Howler keeps banging out those results!So we said, for the second straight day, as we noted the new arrangements on the all-new (but perhaps not improved) Morning … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022Napalm in South Vietnam: Fifty years ago this week, the person who wrote the new guest essay for the New York Times was nine years old. At the start of her essay, she describes her childhood experience up to that point in time:PHAN THI (6/6/22): I grew up in … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022But do you understand what it says? Every so often, down through the years, we've felt the need to absent ourselves from the sheer absurdity of our contemporary, upper-end (imitation of) discourse.Last week, it was Lawrence who sent us around the bend with se … | Continue reading
MONDAY, JUNE 6, 2022For today, Muskie (still) wept: Tomorrow, as we've done on occasion, we'll be launching a bit of a side trip.You'll see our focus as our focus forms. At least for a while, our utterly futile standard fare will be relegated to afternoon-only status.For today, w … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2022The sunshine of the prairie summer would come sifting down: We'd planned to do something a little bit different today. For a hint of the statistical glory involved in that plan, see this morning's postscript. That said, for better or worse, we were knocked o … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2022The gods are relentlessly mocked: It's something we noticed this morning, just before heading off-campus in our private jet.Bored to tears as we watched Morning Joe without the ranting of its vacationing host, we wondered how the network morning "news" shows … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022Possible reasons we're loathed: "That is the face of lying," he said. "Lying about the situation in that school."We're quoting Lawrence O'Donnell from last evening's Last Word. As usual, Lawrence was trying to demonize one of The Others.In this rare case, it … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022Donald J. Trump and the border: As we noted this morning, Uvalde County voted for Donald J. Trump in Campaign 2020.It did so by a 20-point margin! The county is three-quarters Hispanic, but Trump won going away.What can our frequently self-impressed tribe po … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022How Uvalde voted: We start with a question about the pompous peacocks who pose as our blue tribe's "thought leaders."The question we ask would be this:Is it possible that Amanda Flores, age 43, knows some things our high-ranking thought leaders do not? More … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2022Sub-competence, all the way down: With apologies, we spent the bulk of the afternoon involved in American health care. For that reason, we weren't able to perform our normal afternoon service.We hope we'll be able, at some point, to discuss the most recent … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2022"Gun culture," black and brown: There's nothing "wrong" with adopting "gun culture," until such time as there is.That said, our nation's gun culture may not always seem to be wholly rational. Here's Charles Blow's recent account of the culture surrounding h … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2022We disagree with Drum: In a new post, Kevin Drum offers a "counsel of despair concerning mass shootings." He begins his post like this:DRUM (5/31/22): I am one of those terrible liberals who has long-since given up on gun control and mass shootings. The pro-g … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2022Why would they publish such work?: Man [sic] is the rational animal, Aristotle is said to have said.That said, he'd never been to Texas! In Texas, someone who is 18 years old can't legally buy a handgun (or a glass of beer). But he can buy an AR-15, a vastly … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 30, 2022Don from Salinas, but Einstein and Isaacson too: On Sunday morning, we did it again. Discarding the "complacencies of the peignoir" of which Stevens so gracefully wrote; eschewing his heroine's "late coffee and oranges in a sunny chair;" we watched the first … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2022Even worse, we watched Wallace and Glaude: This morning, in the 7 A.M. hour, we did what we often do of a Saturday morning.We watched the opening, "open phones" segment of C-Span's Washington Journal. The topic today was this:What is the solution to young me … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2022Our rhetoric emerges: At the top of our "highly educated" press corps, statistics can be quite hard.Consider the report by German Lopez in today's New York Times. Its headline is simple: "America's Gun Problem." Its first presentation looks exactly like this:L … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022Also, a trio of headlines: We'll start by noting a trio of headlines, two from the Washington Post.What kind of rhetoric has perhaps been emerging from our tribe? We'll discuss that question further tomorrow, but these headlines may raise that question:Ameri … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2022Does this rhetoric help? Early this morning, we recalled the original red-faced ranter in NBC's "cable news" stable.Back then, his name was Chris Matthews. He was the number-one red-faced ranter of NBC's cable arm.For whatever reason, we recalled the ranting … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022Alleged mental illness, allegedly lenient courts: Some of our many murderous shooting incidents are mass shooting incidents. Some involve one victim only.So it was on the New York subway this past Sunday morning. Daniel Enriquez, age 48, was shot and killed … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022Our rhetoric post-Uvalde: This morning, as we watched Morning Joe, we were treated to examples of our blue tribe's current rhetoric.The angry host engaged in his various trademark rants. As he did, he excoriated the "barbarians," "liars" and "freaks" who op … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022While you're at it, take a look at his tape: Until this week, we didn't know much about Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga).In fact, we didn't know anything about him. Watching Rachel Maddow last night, we did learn that he has a funny name.(For background, see this … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022Dissembling all the way down: In fairness, no—it wasn't exactly "rhetoric."That said, we watched Rachel Maddow last night. At present, Monday is her one night on the air.We watched Maddow's performance. We'd have to say that what we saw was dissembling all th … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2022Let's take a look at the data: New York City "is facing a literary crisis," New York Times readers were told.Are the city's novelists moving upstate? Actually, as it turned out, the actual crisis is this:New York is facing a literacy crisis: Fewer than half of … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2022How diverse democracies die: Over the past (let's say) ten years, rhetoric from the MAGA world has turned into a deeply disturbing anthropology lesson. The rhetoric is often jaw-dropping, as are the widespread beliefs. This rhetoric, and this capacity for unfo … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2022A, B and C, long ago: Long ago and far away, we were teaching fifth and sixth graders in the Baltimore City Schools.We started in the fall of 1969; we left in the early 1980s. We came for the draft deferment, left because the time had come when we pretty muc … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022Carlson tackles replacement: Last Tuesday night, Tucker Carlson offered his take on the so-called "great replacement theory." At one point, he said this:CARLSON (5/17/22): You've heard a lot about the great replacement theory recently. It's everywhere in the l … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2022Let's take a look at the record(s): Long ago and far away, we performed at an annual meeting of Baltimore City teachers.Or was it teachers from the whole state of Maryland? Actually, we think it was, but we can't exactly recall.We were no longer a Baltimore Ci … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022Our blue tribe's Pizzagate crowd: Recent years have supplied a punishing anthropology lesson.The red tribe has painfully taught us this: At times of tribal dislocation, there's no claim that makes so little sense that millions won't believe it. You can start … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022And does the New York Times care? When the mayor announced a major new plan, the New York Times couldn't be bothered.More precisely, the New York Times couldn't be bothered to assign an experienced education specialist to report on the mayor's new plan. Inst … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022...Morning Joe debates "who we are:" The Morning Joe program began today with a lengthy, utterly pointless pseudo-discussion of the race for the GOP Senate nomination from the state of Pennsylvania.As matters stood, the race was an unresolvable dead heat be … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022Did its descriptions make sense? In last Friday's morning's editions, the New York Times described Mayor Adams' plan for Gotham's public schools.The city "is facing a literacy crisis," Times subscribers were told. Early in her news report, Lola Fadulu descr … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022Why did Democrats say what they did? We're so old that we can remember when Samuel Alito's draft opinion on abortion rights was still major news all across the land.That was some time last week. Now we're involved in a great civil war about so-called "replace … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022And the New York Times' new reporter: It was an unusual moment in the recent history of the New York Times.When it comes to the New York City Public Schools, the paper of record typically concerns itself with the highest achieving students only—with the top f … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022Tucker's replacement theory: Horrifically, mass shootings by deranged teenagers are part of our culture now. Some of these shootings involve racial motives. Some of these shootings don't.We can't meaningfully discuss the types of (extreme) mental illness which … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022Journalism versus illusion: "Time is an illusion," Kant is sometimes rather crudely said to have possibly said.Did he really say such a thing—and if so, what could he have meant? The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy offers this overview of the matter:Perhap … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2022It has been for a long time: With apologies, we didn't do a very good job explaining our argument yesterday. We were discussing the perils involved in the possibility of charging Donald J. Trump (and an array of lesser GOP figures) with a series of crimes. … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2022A preference for "locking them up:" From 2009 through 2015, Eric Holder was President Obama's attorney general.Holder is intelligent, sensible, smart. He doesn't seem to be crazy at all. We'd call him transparently sane. Also, Holder has recently changed his m … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2022From yesterday's New York Times: We should have posted the letter yesterday. It came from that day's New York Times.It's the best letter we've read in a while. Heading included, it went exactly like this:The Day I Skipped SchoolTo the Editor:Re “Your Kids C … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2022What the vice president said: We continue to apologize for our lack of focus in the past few weeks. Medical issues involving our entire staff have dragged our attention away. (We hope to be back on track soon.)Even as we apologize, the anthropology lessons … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022Our "anthropology moment:" As we've noted many times, this has been our "anthropology moment."This has been an anthropology moment for our nation; for our tribe; for each of us as individuals. That said, it can only be our anthropology moment if we're willi … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2022Gail and Bret meet Roe v. Wade: It has been our view for quite some time that our nation's creaky political systems were breaking down—were ceasing to function in a minimal way, were essentially falling apart.With that in mind, we first cited the classicist … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022...but our skills are extremely limited: Will the Supreme Court overturn the Roe decision at the end of its current term?We can't answer that question. That said, it's very possible that they will—and with that daunting prospect in sight, our highly self-impre … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2022Our blue tribe's fellow citizens: How did Samuel Alito get on the Supreme Court in the first place?We mean that as a basic historical question, not as a denigration of Alito. In one major respect, the answer to that question is perfectly clear.Samuel Alito g … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2022In the beginning, he wasn't: We're losing a lot of time today, so we can only offer this hint:Last night, Lawrence O'Donnell said he was "enraged." He said so right at the start of his Last Word program. No transcript is available yet.O'Donnell said he was enra … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2022The posture of tribal war: It's a famous question from the Old Testament:Am I my brother's keeper?That particular story didn't end well; the story starred Cain and Abel. Today, we ask a set of related questions. Some of those questions are these:Am I even my … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022Chait possibly over-explains: In this new post at New York magazine, Jonathan Chait attempts to explain who J. D. Vance really is and what he really believes.For ourselves, we know of no reason to assume that Vance "believes" anything at all in any conventi … | Continue reading