Gerald Ford, among other disabilities during his campaign to win the Presidency he had been appointed to, suffered from rampant inflation. His administration came up with a modest response indeed, a program basically to admonish the citizenry not to engage in inflationary behavior, to save more, spend less and otherwise short-circuit rising prices. This was pitched with a tangy little acronym; Whip Inflation Now! [Read more →]
A 27-year-old woman pregnant with her fifth child walks into a Catholic hospital on the verge of death. At 11 weeks into her pregnancy she is told that the baby must be aborted or they will both surely die. The hospital administrator, a nun, is forced to make a fast and life-changing decision. She allows the abortion to take place in order to save the mother’s life. When Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted caught wind of what had happened, he declared that she was instantly excommunicated, claiming “you can’t do evil, to bring about good.”
I’m having a hard time focusing on which part of this story bothers me the most. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that at 27, this woman is pregnant with her fifth child, or that the nun who OK’d the medical procedure to save the woman’s life was excommunicated from the church — instantly — while it is a known fact that not a single priest credibly accused of molesting children has ever been excommunicated. Her actions saved a woman’s life — a mother of four. While the accused Priests’ actions have destroyed thousands.
I know I have been M.I.F.A. I apologize… life happens… shit happens… and things in between happen. But it’s finale season and while this marks the end of good television and the beginning of crappy summer fillers, I live for these weeks in May. I recently acquired a completely legitimate prescription for Valium (Dude, I swear it’s kinda legit) and it came just in time for highly intense TV goodness. Let’s pop a pill and dive right in. [Read more →]
In the penultimate episode of Lost, “What They Died For,” Jacob tells the surviving Losties why he chose them as candidates: “I chose you because you were all alone. You were all looking for something that you couldn’t find out there. I chose you because you needed this place as much as it needed you.” This explanation really resonated with me, on one hand because it provided a mythologically sound answer to the main question I’ve always had about Lost: why do all these characters have major issues? And having that answer provided the other reason I really liked the explanation: I immediately understood that while Jacob was addressing the remaining candidates, he was really speaking to us. [Read more →]
Michelle Malkin wrote an interesting column about Michael Posner, the Assistant Secretary of State who spoke of America’s human rights record to the Communist Chinese, of all people.
August 29, 2008
I dream I am sharing a hotel room with Gail, Deborah, Eric, and Don. It’s about time to get up, and Eric is skeeved to note that he had been resting his head on my crotch all night. I laugh it off and we start to get up. The last two people out of bed are Gail and Don, so I pretend to be indignant and drag Don off the bed. I excoriate him, in Italian, for ruining my woman.
While waiting in line for a preview screening of Letters to Juliet, I overheard an exchange between two twenty-something females in front of me. “I think this is going to be one of those romantic movies, and that is bad. Real life isn’t like that.” They were right of course. Real life is rarely like Hollywood romantic films. So if you do not like chick flicks, stay away. But in the category of chick flicks this one is not so bad. It looks gorgeous and has strong performances from charismatic actors. [Read more →]
Dramatis Personae
Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General of Connecticut
Reporters
REPORTER 1: Mr. Blumenthal, is it true you lied about serving in Vietnam?
BLUMENTHAL: Everyone has a slip of the tongue now and then. I remember Alan Shepard told me — while we were walking on the surface of the moon together — that he was a full admiral; when, of course, he was only a rear one. [Read more →]
The premise behind The Dark End of the Street is simple:
When we proposed this book to writers from both banks of the stream dividing crime writing and literary writing, we thought we had a particularly alluring idea. Write your heart out on the twin subjects of sex and crime. Define each however you want, take any approach you like. What writer could resist?
The result is a terrific collection of stories from some of my favorite writers. Editor S.J. Rozan (author of one of my favorite mystery series), introduces the collection and provides a particularly chilling story, “Daybreak”, near the end of the volume. Great writers and great writing are the rule here, and there is a little something for everyone. [Read more →]
No, this is not a Lost commentary, though I’ve done my fair share of those in the past. This is a post about that other famous “Smokey”, the bringer of mass-transportation Gotterdammerung, Iceland’s Mount Eyjafjallajökull. I flew into London the day after the big ash-cloud flight ban was lifted earlier this month, and escaped a few hours after another shorter ban was instituted earlier yesterday. You could say I narrowly escaped the wrath of Smokey. [Read more →]
At age 28, I’m still young enough to get into politics if I choose to. I probably won’t, but if I do, I’m going to make sure I’m single.
Another public figure bites the dust, with an Indiana representative becoming the latest to leave office in personal disgrace. The conduct of some men elected to serve as the official leaders of our country continues to disappoint. Haven’t any of these politicians in question heard of divorce? Maybe some of them don’t believe in the procedure or fear image problems, but if that’s the case, they really shouldn’t be getting married. Nobody takes the whole “’til death do us part” bit of the marital vows seriously anymore. Plus, what’s worse – divorcing for the right reasons or being forced to leave office for the wrong ones?
Obviously, politicians are human, so maybe they want the life company of a marriage. Others might just want a wife as a way of showing how in touch with ‘family values’ they are.
The more of these relationships I hear about though, it makes me think that a politician who embraces and enjoys the single life would be a big step forward for our country.
I know y’all have seen the new V-8 commercial on the Tube these days. There’s a 20 something out walking past a store front window (I think it’s a gym), and he pauses, pulls out a V-8, cracks the sucker open and gulps that bad boy down like he’s in some frat party’s “Who can shotgun a beer the fastest?” contest.
It’s the most truth-in-advertising we’ve seen in a long while.
The New York Times, one of the most famous news-related advertising-delivery publications in the world, has exercised some serious journalistic muscle in bringing its readers the lowdown on one of the most important issues of the day.
Facebook’s privacy policy.
Because, you know, that is some serious stuff. The article, entitled Price of Facebook Privacy? Start Clicking reveals that people who voluntarily choose to partake of the social networking site have to read and click on a few things to ensure that some of their information is kept “private.”
Mark Steyn wrote an interesting piece at National Review Online about Attorney General Eric Holder’s inability to blame, acknowledge or even say radical Islam, when discussing the would-be Times Square car bomber and other recent terrorist attempts by men who are clearly radical Islamic fanatics.
Taking a cue from Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez’s use of Twitter to rat out his country’s currency criminals, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio today announced a plan where ordinary citizens can collaborate with his regime in rooting out illegal immigrants.
“If you see anyone suspicious,” said the sheriff, “just tweet me their description and location. Your tip alone will be sufficient grounds for checking the suspect’s citizenship papers.
“Just imagine if the KGB, Stasi, and StB had such technology in their day,” he concluded.
Back in January of this year, I mentioned a 16-year-old girl named Abby Sunderland who was attempting to make a non-stop sailing trip around the world by herself. Her attempt ended, at least temporarily, about a week ago when she needed to stop for repairs. At the same time, Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old from Australia, was making her own trip. She actually left two months before Sunderland, but had gotten less publicity here in the U.S. She managed to avoid the problems that have plagued Sunderland’s trip, and on Saturday, she pulled into Sydney Harbor after a successful 210 day trip. [Read more →]
The line of attack against Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is that she wouldn’t let military recruiters on the campus of Harvard law school back when she was the Dean. Republican Senator Jeff Sessions: “This is no little-bitty matter.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: “I see no reason why you would appoint an anti-military Supreme Court justice.”
10. “My money’s on Wolfman to win the Palme d’Or.”
9. “I wonder if Tim Burton had any influence in creating that new category, Best Weird Johnny Depp Movie.”
8. “Look, it’s Jabba The Hutt!… Nope, just Kevin Smith.”
7. “I’m confused. I thought all these films were supposed to be about cans.”
6. “I hear that new movie, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, is very derivative.”
5. “Our flight was almost cancelled due to the plume of smoke over Woody Harrelson.”
4. “Is Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience being shown out of competition this year?”
3. “Uh-oh, Woody Allen’s headed for the nude beach!”
2. “I was hoping some Na’vi would show up this year.”
1. “All About Steve– c’est magnifique!
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.
Today is Armed Forces Day
This is a good time to think about and honor our young men and women in the U.S. military.
