WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2022Open stupidification: Last evening, promptly at 8 P.M., the stupidification continued.We refer to the stupidification dumped upon the waiting world by once Tucker Carlson. In the fourth minute of last evening's opening monologue, the "excitable child" of … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022A disturbing, depressing disorder: First yesterday, and then today, we simply haven't been able to make ourselves report it or discuss it.We refer to the Washington Post's publication, in print editions, of its Trayvon Martin report. We discussed this depre … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022An unusual family story: As we noted yesterday, the latest episode began on Wednesday evening, March 9. On that evening, Tucker Carlson engaged in a bit of "cable news" shrieking. On that enchanted if overwrought evening, Carlson said so many things in his … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2022Who is Tucker Carlson?: The latest episode began with a simple Q-and-A during a Senate hearing. The question was quite straightforward. At least on its face, the non-answer answer was not.The question was asked by Marco Rubio. During a March 8 Senate committ … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022The Washington Post plainly is: Apparently, Vladimir Putin believes in something called passionarity. We're prepared to make an admission; we'd never heard of passionarity until this very morning. David Brooks describes the "crackpot" concept in this part o … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022Except in the matter of Trump: Incomparably, your Daily Howler keeps churning out those results.This morning, the Washington Post was featuring Alyssa Rosenberg's column on the front page of its web site. Above the column itself, a witty new headline says … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022The endless novelization: Stating the obvious, "race" is very important.The concept may lack scientific meaning, but it lies at the heart of this nation's brutal history, which is part of the brutal history found in locations all around the world.Race may … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2022It seems to have happened in Byram: The Washington Post's Alyssa Rosenberg is a good, decent person. She's fighting the latest round of the culture war in her latest column—or at least, so she seems to believe.Headline included, her column starts like thi … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2022Our "multiracial democracy:" "The eternal note of sadness" had been brought in, the poet once famously said.For us, that note was introduced by the first thing we read this morning. It was a news report in the New York Times. It appeared beneath this head … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022Then again, consider this: It has become a standard claim: Russians are being disinformed by state-run Russian TV.We know of no reason to doubt that. Then again, consider what we saw Peter Strzok say on yesterday's Deadline White House, as an old Bush hand … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022"Quiet Trailblazer's" scare quotes: Friend, do you belong to a "race?" Yes, that's the actual question we're starting with today. Let's make sure you understand what we're actually asking. We aren't asking if you will be treated as if you belong to a "race. … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022So says Wallace-Wells: Is the world ignoring the latest climate report from the United Nations?So says David Wallace-Wells in this report for New York magazine. Indeed, the headline atop his report says this:Why Is the World Ignoring the Latest U.N. Climate … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022Quiet trailblazer speaks: With apologies, we didn't get very far last week. More specifically, we didn't get very far with our review of the (very important) essay by Professors Curran and Gates. The professors advanced an important claim in last Sunday's Ne … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2022In our view, they largely failed: Yesterday, we chose to revisit a recent traumatic event.The trauma stemmed from a bollixed discussion on the prime-time CNN program, Don Lemon Tonight. We were watching, in real time, when Lemon posed these questions to a … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022Won't report what Trump has said: It has long seemed clear—Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) seems to be somewhat disordered. Yesterday, in the Washington Post, Felicia Sonmez and Mariana Alfaro reported the latest evidence. Headline included, their report starte … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022Discussing this topic is hard: We're prepared to admit it:By the time we finished Professor Gates' guest essay, we weren't fully sure what he'd said.The guest essay appeared in Sunday's New York Times. It seemed to concern an important topic—to advance an im … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022Journos still haven't quite heard: We're still surprised—but not surprised—by the way the press is reporting—or not reporting—Donald J. Trump's repeated remarks about the war on Ukraine.As we noted in Monday's report, Trump came out quite strongly against … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022...what Professor Gates has said?: This past Sunday morning, we were instantly drawn to Professor Gates' guest essay in the New York Times.We were attracted by the essay's headline—and by the nugget statement found in its second paragraph.In fact, the essa … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022Alleged groupthink at UVa: Yesterday, we posted Emma Camp's advice concerning racist family and friends when eating Thanksgiving dinner. On balance, we wouldn't agree with her advice, but that's neither here nor there. Once again, here's part of what she s … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022Alleged groupthink at UVa: Yesterday, we posted Emma Camp's advice concerning racist family and friends when eating Thanksgiving dinner. On balance, we wouldn't agree with her advice, but that's neither here nor there. Once again, here's part of what she s … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022But also, the Bridgeport schools: Starting early last evening, a computer breakdown derailed our preparation for today's installment of our current award-winning series, the award-winning "Gates on race." The computer breakdown was conquered this morning. … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022Consider these braindead comments: Back in November 2020, after Biden had won the election, with Thanksgiving fast approaching, a fiery college kid wrote an opinion column in her student newspaper.The student, a junior at UVa, wrote on the subject of pushing … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022Quite frankly, we pretty much don't: The headline on the essay suggests the presence of an important discussion.The essay appeared this past weekend in the New York Times' Sunday Review. The promising headline to which we refer went exactly like this:We Need … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022Is Putin a rational actor?: We've been concerned about the possibility raised in this headline at New York magazine's Intelligencer site:The West’s Sanctions on Russia Are Working Too WellAre the sanctions working too well? At the end of his essay, Eric Levit … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022But first, what Mister Trump said: We humans tend to believe the things we're told by the sources we've come to trust.This may not always produce good results. For example, consider this news report in the Washington Post, "Ukrainians Find That Relatives in … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022...the Skittles were back in the picture: Yesterday, at a press briefing, President Zelensky referred to one part of the problem. According to the New York Times, this is what he said:“The Russian side has long ago formed the answers to their questions,” Mr. … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022The greatness of Autherine Lucy: Autherine Lucy Foster isn't one of the best-known names.That said, she came from the greatest generation. She died yesterday at age 92. In the Washington Post, Harrison Smith's report begins like this:Autherine Lucy Foster, … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022...who told us the story we like: Long ago, and far away, a deeply unfortunate shooting death occurred.Actually, it didn't happen that long ago. It happened exactly ten years ago last week.As we all know, a very large number of shooting deaths occur in this … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022Occasions when history rhymes: Just this once, we'll let you ask us about our connection to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.Our memory has been drifting back due to current events in Ukraine. We're talking about a situation in which history may not be rep … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022Is that a lot or a little?: A funny thing happened over the weekend as we read the Washington Post. We stumbled upon a shocking statistic—a statistic which helped to highlight the street-fighting greatness of our current liberal / progressive tribe."We tel … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022"Overwhelming" v. "flat-out insane:" CBS News conducted a survey as part of Black History Month. Choosing to see the glass mostly full, a pair of CBS scribes offered this as part of the network's report:BACKUS AND SALVANTO (2/23/22): ...Americans do overwhel … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022Other facts must disappear: We're willing to admit it! We were struck by a certain headline in today's New York Times.Does the headline make any sense? In print editions, the headline quite literally says this:House Passes Bill to Make Lynching a Federal Hat … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2022For example, Belarus: "Back out of all this now too much for us?"Maybe it's time to walk away from the invention of novelized tales—to return to the acquisition of information and basic facts.With that in mind, we found ourselves wondering the other day. … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2022Defining the shape of an era: No, it isn't just Slate! The New York Times publishes a limited number of advice columns too. They're far less numerous than the columns which seem to be propping up Slate. Also, the advice columns at the New York Times aren' … | Continue reading