Anyone…
…still think Romney’s not a fighter? I don’t often say “I told you so,” but I can’t resist this time (see the last paragraph of this post, as well as paragraphs 4-6 here). I don’t know whether Romney will win, … Continue reading →
neo
The Onion channels Ryan talking to Democrats
[Hat tip: Ace.] This is pretty funny, despite the obligatory Palin/Quayle-bashing, the kneejerk assumption that Ryan’s politics don’t really make sense, and the reference (not excerpted here) to Ryan’s being very white: It’s okay to admit it. You’re frightened to … Continue reading →
Michael Phelps and pool hygiene
Olympian Michael Phelps pees in the pool. And he says everybody does it, too. But the survey from the WSJ article indicates that everybody doesn’t—or at least, they don’t own up to it, because 37.7% of respondents say they never … Continue reading →
Eliminating Medicare as we know it
Get ready to hear a lot of this sort of thing: “Paul Ryan’s plan would ELIMINATE MEDICARE as we know it.” The words “eliminate Medicare” will be said with great emphasis, and the phrase “as we know it” will be … Continue reading →
Miscellaneous facts about Paul Ryan
He’s exceptionally young: 42. He didn’t go to an Ivy League school. He’s not a lawyer. (Those last two are a refreshing change.) But he’s married to one—that is, to a former lawyer who’s now a stay-at-home mother. And like … Continue reading →
And Romney’s VP is…
…(big drum roll) Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. And of course, right on schedule with hardly a pause for breath, the attacks begin (my impression is that there used to be a little grace period for the new nominee, but maybe … Continue reading →
The goals of Soviet torture
From Martin Amis’s book Koba the Dread: …[T]orture, among its other applications, was part of Stalin’s war against the truth. He tortured, not to force you to reveal a fact, but to force you to collude in a fiction. And … Continue reading →
Oooo, the poor plagarists, the pressure made them do it
I am getting really, really, really sick of this sort of excuse/explanation: “The problem [of plagiarism] is as old as journalism,” says Stephen Ward, director of the Center for Media Ethics at the University of Wisconsin. “It’s a systemic issue, … Continue reading →
Will wonders never cease?
A positive article—at least, sort of halfway positive—about something Mitt Romney once did, appearing in the NY Times. [NOTE: By the way, you can talk about today’s bad-news polls in this thread, if you like. It’s possible to criticize the … Continue reading →
Dieting and the obesity paradox
It’s a real paradox, one I’d not heard of before, and it shows once again how little we really know about disease and weight and health. Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes, which is more common in the overweight, also occurs … Continue reading →
War ballets
This article about US Marine and Iraq war veteran and ballet dancer Roman Baca, who has choreographed ballets based on themes connected with the war, its veterans, and their families, reminds me of the fact that although there have been … Continue reading →
Obama and the trickle-down fairy dust
Bridget Johnson notes that Obama has a new catch-phrase that he’s used five times in recent speeches, “trickle-down fairy dust.” Here’s a typical example: We know better than this. They have been trying to sell us this trickle-down, tax cut … Continue reading →