Wow, does time pass. Yesterday in my post about Romney’s smarts, I wrote that in the photo of the young Romneys with their matching fisherman knit sweaters, Ann had “a bit of a Patty Hearst vibe going.” That sparked a … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Last night I wrote a draft of a post on how Barack Obama’s latest remarks on SCOTUS precedent are an attempt to emulate Franklin Roosevelt in the 30s. I was going to polish it up and submit it to … Continue reading →
The process of political change, aptly described by Ace: It’s called a paradigm shift. It’s going to seem a little weird and scary at first, but it will also be thrilling and ultimately liberating. A lot of things that have … Continue reading →
I find this article from 1995 quite disturbing for what it reveals about Newt Gingrich’s psyche. And by the way, that has nothing to do with whether I like his politics or not. I would find the sort of information … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Please make sure you watch the video at the end of the post.] It’s reported that Newt Gingrich is preparing a new and “brutal” anti-Romney ad. Part of it is alleged to go something like this: “Romney said he … Continue reading →
I was researching a post I might write some day about Republican presidents, and I came across this photo. Who are these people? Scions of two Republican presidents, they are Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower, who married in 1968 and … Continue reading →
It seems as though every ship disaster has at least one goat and at least one hero. Titanic had many self-sacrificing heroes, and it had Bruce Ismay as the main goat, although there were others. Captain Edward Smith was both … Continue reading →
Now comes the news that North Korea’s Kim Jong Il (age variously reported as 69 or 70) has died. It’s been rumored for several years that he’d been gravely ill with a stroke and then pancreatic cancer, but his official … Continue reading →
Remember Reagan’s eleventh commandment, “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican?” This year the interminable debate format and the large size of the field has made it almost inevitable that just about everybody’s been violating it, and it … Continue reading →
[Hat tip: Ann Althouse.] Excerpt by Peter Gnedich, “Memories,” from The Book of Life (1922): Lev Tolstoy sincerely loved Chekhov, but did not like his plays. He told Chekhov once, “A playwright should take the theater-goer by the hand, and … Continue reading →
Demographer S. Jay Olshansky has done a study appearing in JAMA which he claims debunks the popular idea that serving as POTUS is so stressful it shortens a person’s life: Olshansky found that 23 of the 34 U.S. presidents who … Continue reading →
A number of people have recommended this article by Walt Harrington about George W. Bush, whom the journalist first met back in the 80s and became friendly with. Those people are correct; it’s a fascinating read. Their friendship endured throughout … Continue reading →