Here, unchanged, is a post originally from Sept. 22, 2003, providing a bit of the romantic and financial history of Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who is stepping in for Tom Delay as House Majority Leader. Delay is in legal trouble, partly due to his close ties to lobbyists: In bed with Big Tobacco Altriiiiia — I just met a girl named Altria … Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the House majority whip, is getting married next month. The wedding is planned... Read more
It's possible that I'm taking Tom Friedman out of context here. I hope so. I can't say for sure because his NY Times column is now only available via subscription and I am not a member of the "select." So I hope that, somehow, the surrounding paragraphs qualify and mitigate against what Friedman seems to be saying in the one horrific paragraph I was able to read for free thanks to Atrios: That will become clear in the next few... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 154-156 Rayford Steele is anxiously awaiting the safe return home of his daughter, Chloe. It's kind of strange that he is not also anxiously awaiting the safe return home of his wife and son. Readers of the book know for certain that those who suddenly disappeared will not be coming back, but the family members they left behind have no such certainty. Rayford's departed wife used to go on and on about the rapture, so he has... Read more
The premiere performance of a new and exciting play, it turns out, makes for a very busy weekend and thus my usual Friday schedule was, er, left behind. Please stay tuned for a special make-up installment of "Left Behind Mondays Tuesdays," in which our hero, Rayford Steele, is reunited with his daughter, Chloe. It's a touching family-reunion scene — lots of hugging, weeping and proselytization. Sorry for the delay … Read more
stupidity and suffering are on that ticket too Grant Lee Buffalo, "Truly Truly" Hindu Love Gods, "Raspberry Beret" Billie Holiday, "God Bless the Child" Sinead O'Connor, "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance" Sam Cooke, "A Change is Gonna Come" Hall & Oates, "You Make My Dreams Come True" Beastie Boys, "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn" Bush, "Come Down" The Hold Steady, "Stevie Nix" Aztec Camera, "Down the Dip" (Thankyouthankyouthankyou to whoever it was a few months ago who told me to... Read more
From Philadelphia Weekly: In his new work Perfection Unspeakable, Tom Minter questions man's relationship with a divine being. The first production from the new company Caliban Productions, the show focuses on two angels debating their power to interfere in men's lives. As the language of heaven is silence, they employ humans to act out their debate. The play is set on an ethereal plane in 1940s Gotham, and also in the medieval period. The cast mixes both deaf and hearing... Read more
President Bush has committed to spending $200 billion for the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. We don't have $200 billion. The federal treasury isn't just empty, it's sub-empty. That's what "deficit" means. Or, more to the point, what "record-breaking deficits as far as the eye can see" means. So how to pay for this rebuilding effort? The president, in keeping with his policy of avoiding "reality-based" approaches, seems to think this $200 billion can be magically spent... Read more
That's the last line in Hotel Rwanda. It's hard to talk about Hotel Rwanda because Nazi references are supposedly taboo. Every frame of that film says, "Never again." That statement is one of the most important things we can say. It is also, among other things, a Nazi reference. So please excuse me for ignoring this misguided taboo, but I don't accept the idea that we ought to stop saying one of the most important things we can say just... Read more
(And they have a plan.) Atrios points us to this U.S. News "Whispers" item, which helps to explain the precise process that leads to all those GOP pundits uttering the same, exact talking points. They're just following orders. It's called the "Friends & Allies" program: The project, started by the Republican National Committee in the 2004 re-election campaign, is simple and effective: Give opinion makers, media friends, and even cocktail party hosts insider info on the topic of the day.... Read more
On one level, the "flypaper" theory seems to be working. Here's Saturday's news: Four days after al-Qaida in Iraq declared all-out war on the country's Shiite majority, more than 250 people have been killed, 30 of them in a massive car bombing Saturday outside a produce market in a poor Shiite suburb east of Baghdad. In all, at least 52 people were killed or found dead throughout the country Saturday … And here's Sunday's news: Insurgents assassinated a Kurdish member... Read more
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