All Purls. No Swine.
I met a traveler from a Midwest Park Who said–“A vast and legless trunk of stone Stands in the city. . . . Near it, in the dark, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown Of cold contempt, and wrinkled lip, and smirk, Tell that its builder well those passions read Which yet survive,… Continue reading Obamandias
Because, for some unfortunate reason, it seems sadly necessary. The Republican-majority United States House of Representatives passed a bill on September 19, 2025, to continue previously-voted-upon business as usual while negotiations about future budget changes went forward. That bill subsequently went to the Senate, where it failed to pass because it didn't get 60 votes… Continue reading Just Correcting the Record, on the So-Called US Government Shutdown…
I can take it from the Commentary podcast people, because they're unabashed Jews. That's who they are. That's what they do. And I listen to them almost every day because--in spite of their acknowledged bias--they often have really interesting things to say. I can take it from Dan Senor, because his podcast is incredibly even-handed… Continue reading Newsflash for Meandering or Ambivalent Gentiles: Yammering at Inordinate Length about Israel Doesn’t Usually End Well for You
I am amused by the meltdown among the Left and the legacy media (but I repeat myself) over the demolition of the White House East Wing, a building which–as far as I can see–had no particular historical or aesthetic merit, and seems to have consisted of cramped offices, the entrance and exit points for White… Continue reading Architectural Originalism
Former White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki is taking some heat for her recent remarks about the wife of the current Vice President of the United States. In a conversation with two other equally unpleasant-seeming women whom I might describe–on looks alone–as “two peas in a podcast” (full disclosure: I have no idea who either… Continue reading The Left-Wing Attempt to Infantilize Usha Vance
Two trucks loaded with bombs detonated, killing a total of 307 people, 241 of whom were American military personnel, dozens of whom were French military, and a few of whom were civilians and (not important) a couple of the attackers. I'm not sure we've ever dealt with it, or even come to terms with it,… Continue reading Forty-Two Years Ago Today, in Beirut Lebanon
Really, righteous people. If what you want to do is endanger yourselves (you keep on saying that you feel endangered, because--what else--Trump!) by bravely stepping up to the line and perhaps even crossing it, I should have thought by now you'd have noticed that you've felt no consequences--ever--for doing so. Just like Meryl Streep at… Continue reading No Kings? Grow Up Already!
Honestly, there are days when the tsunami of news is so overwhelming that I can’t but do other than reflect on the words of the late Mr. Right's Aunt Sophie, who served as a real-life Rosie the Riveter in one of Pittsburgh’s munitions factories during World War II, and who was well known in the… Continue reading On Cotton Bolls and Dancing Queens
https://youtu.be/3t0Gk0nffXA I think I know. There are lots of noncombatants in the current wars. Fair enough. They get a pass, for now, or at least until things heat up some more. And then there are those who pretend to be already engaged. Those who imagine they are "standing" because of some good work they may… Continue reading What is the Difference Between “Fighting” and “Standing”? Advice to a Former Friend
A little poem from my childhood: Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there He wasn't there again today I wish, I wish he'd go away... When I came home last night at three The man was waiting there for me But when I looked around the hall I couldn't see him… Continue reading “I wish, I wish, he’d go away”: Trump and the escalator wishcasting from the Left