I got one of those “We’re so excited to be able to offer you something new and we’re sure you’ll love because it’s so fabulous!” emails today. It’s from Jet Blue, and they’re announcing a new and more complicated fare … Continue reading →
We’ve already talked an awful lot here about the phenomenon of the NeverTrumpers on the right. Even so, this piece on the subject is well worth reading: Before President Trump’s explosive entrance onto the political scene, mainstream conservatism was somewhat … Continue reading →
I’ve had a bad back for over 30 years. Bad backs run in my family, and despite general athleticism (or maybe because of it?) three out of the four members of my family had serious and chronic disc problems and … Continue reading →
I already know that I’m not. Some people like me exceptionally well. But I think most people find me a trifle odd. Maybe not just a trifle. And now I know why. I don’t fit this profile at all, and … Continue reading →
I love to save money, so when I recently went to an Aldi market for the first time I expected it to become a new favorite. But I was surprised to find that I didn’t much like it. In fact, … Continue reading →
Commenter “Mac” writes: I recently had an exchange with a leftist who explicitly rejected the significance of plain facts to the debate. For him the only *fact* that mattered was that his cause was morally right. It dawned on me … Continue reading →
It costs money to hire people to answer phones, even if they live in Bangladesh or wherever they tend to be these days. So websites that pretend to have customer service actively discourage phone calls. The first way they do … Continue reading →
The first couple of months I was blogging I didn’t post a photo of myself. I originally was completely anonymous, and publishing a photo didn’t even cross my mind. But I could not help but notice that all my readers … Continue reading →
The title of this post is a direct quote from commenter “Cornhead” today on one of the posts about the Ukraine phone call and its fallout. I don’t know about the American people, although I suspect Cornhead is right. I … Continue reading →
When I updated Firefox recently, I noticed that certain familiar and comforting words – “bookmarks,” for example – that used to point to the obvious and could be clicked on without much thought, have been replaced by symbols. And I … Continue reading →
It’s easy to mock George Packer for what he writes in this Atlantic essay about choosing a school for his son in New York City. But I find his essay heartbreaking as well as complex. He’s a well-meaning liberal who … Continue reading →
My mother was an excellent writer. She was also a good storyteller—that is, an entertaining one—although she sometimes embellished things for the sake of the story. I know this for a fact because I sometimes heard her stories about me … Continue reading →