No, that’s not a joke about getting screwed by Geddy Lee. It’s an accurate description of what Peter Duffy, a columnist for the Novia Scotia Chronicle Herald, claims happened to him in a hotel recently.
Judging from his column photo, I think Mr. Duffy is flattering himself…
It’s also interesting to think about whether Hillary Clinton, who once was from Chicago, could have pulled off the MNF appearance Obama just did….
I’m not so sure she could.
Here’s another pop culture litmus test. Could Obama host Saturday Night Live? I think he could. Could Hillary?
Barack Obama on MNF
Anyone else see Barack on MNF? It was a fascinating appearance, I thoughtâa way to show that he has some self-awareness about the hype surrounding his presidential bid, and a commentary about the sometime absurdity of the political process.
On balance, I think Obama was smart and funny. But he has to be careful: Voters don’t like candidates who convey a sense of irony. It’s a balancing act….
I do like his willingness not to take himself too seriously, with the “da-da-da-daaa” at the end…
The Times reports that Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich is also running for president. So is Sam Brownback. So is Dick Armey.
None of these people has a chance in hell of being nominated, though Brownback, who is something of a Jesus freak, may think he has a chance in heaven. So why are they doing it? For a reason that has become increasingly common in recent elections: to remain politically relevant, boost their profile, and get attention. (Pat Buchanan generally ran to increase the attention paid to his ideas and to increase his speaking fees.)
Armey’s not in Congress any more. He’s probably bored. Kucinich is in Congress…so he’s probably bored.
Brownback is just an awful person, so who knows why he’s runningâto make the state of the country even more awful than it is now. I see in the Houston Chronicle that he’s blocking a judicial nomination because the woman in question, who is heterosexual, once attended the wedding of a lesbian couple, one of which was her neighbor. Hmmm. Someone should invite him to an event with Mary Cheney, and see what he does…..
Brownback recently told Fox News that “Our motto of our land is ‘In God We Trust.'” Is it? Or is that just a phrase stamped upon coins (for the first time) during the Civil War, as a reminder to the faithful to stay strong in support of the war?
And, of course, once those words are on our currency, what politician is going to vote to remove them? (And a vote is required.) Though Teddy Roosevelt, God bless him, argued for removing the words because it was sacrilegious to put God’s name on money. It is, however, reflective of American values in ways that Senator Brownback probably hasn’t considered.
Then, later, in 1956, Eisenhower signed a law declaring “In God We Trust” to be our national motto, possibly as a rebuke to the official atheism of the USSR.
Regardless, the phrase clearly doesn’t represent the views of millions of Americans and is not reflected in national policy (nor should it be).
In any case, I can’t help but think that, after a president whose faith has inspired him to make such awful decisions, the American public will be reluctant to support a man who argues for an even greater role for (Christian) religion in policy-making.
Besides, the way things are going, Brownback’s Christianism is probably a sign that he’s gay….
If you’re gay, it’s apparently hard to find. Here’s the Crimson’s intro for a piece on Harvard and the website Craigslist:
Craigslist is the go-to location mainly for closeted Harvard gay boys who have no outlet for sexual fulfillment other than to pursue furative [sic] fellatio in Harvardâs various public restrooms.
It’s actually a pretty interesting story alleging that most gay men at Harvard are in the closet. Perhaps they should transfer to Yale, which, at least when I was there, was very gay-friendly.
A small but telling sign of the times:
Recently I bought a children’s book for the latest Yankee fan in the family. She’s about six months old. Called “Let’s Go, Yankees,” it is ostensibly written by Yogi Berra, although who knows, really? There are about 100 words in the whole book. Such as:
“It was a beautiful day in New York City. Yankees fans were on their way to Yankee Stadium for a baseball game.”
“The young fans walked to Yankee Stadium. They were excited to see “The House That Ruth Built.“
How depressing it was to see that both “Yankee Stadium” and “The House That Ruth Built” were immediately followed by TM, the copyright symbol….
While this blog might give the impression that I spend most of my days thinking about Harvard and sunsets, truth is, I spend most of my waking hours thinking about baseball, as I research my forthcoming book on the 1978 pennant race between the Yankees and the Red Sox. One of the themes of that book is baseball’s transition to a free-agency economy and its effects upon the game.
With that in mind, I was intrigued to read this Dan Shaughnessy story from the Globe, in which he analyzes the off-season moves of Sox GM Theo Epstein.
A year after his weird walkaway, Theo is throwing dollars around like a young George Steinbrenner. In New York Yankee fashion, he’s been bidding against himself for some players and never again can he stand on the Fenway lawn and say the Red Sox do not have the means to compete financially with the erstwhile Evil Empire.
Epstein spent $50 million just for the rights to negotiate with Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzakaâthough if they don’t sign him, they get it backâthen signed so-so free agent J.D. Drew for $70 million. Shaughnessy describes Drew as a “passionless, often-hurt showcase warrior who did not appear to have any other suitors.” (Can you say “Carl Pavano“?)
Curious moves by Epstein in a very demanding baseball town…Quite clearly, he should have re-signed Johnny Damon, who was a great player for the Sox and seems to fill any team he’s on with positive energy. J.D. Drew? You’re welcome to him….
Meanwhile, the Yankees have re-signed former ace Andy Pettitte, who left the team to pitch for the Astros three years ago. “I know New York is where God wants me and where heâs put me for this year,” Pettitte said.
I am astounded at the ability of some Christians to believe that God gives a damn which baseball team will pay them $16 million a season…. Did God also tell Pettitte to take steroids?
Nonetheless, Yankee fans will likely welcome Pettitte back with an outpouring of affection, even though he left the team to play in (please) Houston. No one expects loyalty in baseball anymore, so the lack of it is rarely held against a player.
Last year, by the way, Pettitte was 14-13, with an ERA of 4.20…..
Galapagos Sunset
Photo by Evan Cornog
Amy Gutmann joins a growing list of potential Harvard presidential candidates who are saying that they don’t want the job.
“I will say it, and I will say it for the last time: I am absolutely committed to being Penn’s president, and I am not interested in any other presidency,” Gutmann told the trustees, as reported in The Daily Pennsylvanian on Friday.
You can’t really blame her. Harvard floated her name back in 2001 as a candidate for the presidency, but a number of sources have told me that she wasn’t really a serious candidateâit’s just that the presidential search committee needed to appear as if it were at least considering a woman.
Plus, by all accounts, she’s doing a good job at Penn.
Incidentally, this news appeared in the Daily Princetonian, but not the Crimson……
Here’s the lede from an AP story today:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S.-led coalition forces killed 20 insurgents, including two women, Friday in fighting and airstrikes that targeted al-Qaida in Iraq militants northwest of Baghdad, the military said. The mayor of the area said 19 civilians were killed, including seven women and eight children.
Well, what were they? Insurgents, including women? Or civilians, including women and children?
This is an awful war, and part of its awfulness is that when our military says we killed “insurgents,” and an Iraqi pol says they were civilians, I don’t know whom to believe….