New York Dynasty
So it’s official: Caroline Kennedy does want to be the next Senator from New York. A shocking development. I mean it’s not as though the departing Senator traded on a famous name to snare the seat herself, is it?
Alex Massie
Monday
Sunday
The Spirit of the Season
Time for another occasional series. And since it’s Christmas, how better to honour the true spirit of the season than by recalling some classic TV advertisements from the past? Come to think of it, that’s what Gordon Brown and his cronies would want you to do: nothing like a spot of stimulus spending is there?
Department of “But That Was Then! This Is Different!”
Gordon Brown in 1995: “A weak currency is the sign of a weak economy which is the sign of a weak government.” Today: on the commercial exchange rates, one pound will, at best, purchase you one euro. The Prime Minister insists Britain is better placed than other countries to weather the financial storms of the
Saturday
The Ingenuity of the British Journalist
Is such that, as you know, there’s no need to bribe the fellow. From Simon Hoggart’s Guardian column today: A colleague of the late Raymond Jackson, “Jak” of the London Evening Standard, had an interesting tale. Jak was famous for including the names of firms – restaurants, pubs, even skip hire companies – in his
Thursday
Would You Trust Anyone Named Kevin?
Kevin Drum crunches the numbers and comes to some worrying (for him) conclusions…
Economic Policy Trust Test: Labour or the Germans?
A good old-fashoned rumpus is developing. Seems as though the Germans, fed up with being sneered at by Godron Brown and irritated by the Prime Minister’s pretensions to have “saved the world” have decided to poke the PM in the eye. As Peer Steinbruck, the SPD Finance Minister told Newsweek: We have a bidding war
Tobacco Futures
Courtesy of the Daily Mash: SMOKERS BANNED FROM LOOKING AT CIGARETTES WHILE SMOKING SMOKERS will have to hold a large piece of card over their face so they cannot look at the cigarette they are smoking, ministers said last night. The ‘smoking mask’ will include a small mouth hole and a handle though later models
Wednesday
No! Not the Bore Worms…
You remember the line don’t you? “Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the earth.” And you’ll remember the Labour posters promising “Not Flash, Just Gordon”? Well, they ditched that idea today. Or at least the Prime Minister did as this unfortunate slip at Prime Ministers’ Questions demonstrates: Now
Delaying Detroit’s Death
Now as it happens, American cars are, generally speaking, much better than they used to be. And Ford and GM have demonstrated that, in europe at least, they know how to build small cars capable of doing more than 20 miles to the gallon. Even in the United States, the Big Three have greatly improved
Tales from Modern Britain
When the spooks think matters have got out of hand then, you know, they’ve probably gotten out of hand. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) was passed in 2000 to regulate the way that public bodies such as the police and the security services carry out surveillance. Originally only a handful of authorities were
Michael Gerson Cares More Than You Do
Michael Gerson, formerly George W Bush’s chief speechwriter, has been to the Congo. As you might imagine, it’s pretty grim there. So, naturally, Gerson has this to say: Security in eastern Congo is the prerequisite for political progress. Nkunda will continue to push until someone effectively pushes back. The Congolese army is incapable of defeating
Got vs Gotten
I knew someone would call me out on this. And sure enough, commenting on this post, faithful reader Sam G writes: First paragraph: “gotten”? O tempora, O Mores indeed. To which I say: hooey. To begin with, there’s much to be said for the vigour of American English. Plus, as you know, gotten is merely
Department of Calumny
Patrick Appel, standing in for Andrew while the Boss Man takes a break, has the audacity to nominate Terry Teachout for one of Mr Sullivan’s “Poseur Alert Nominee” awards. Yikes! What has the urbane Mr Teachout written to deserve such teasing? Why only this: “I know how it feels to see the design for the
GOP Future Delayed? Maybe.
Bobby Jindal has fast become the GOP’s Great Brown Hope. He keeps demonstrating why. First he said he did not want to be considered as a potential running-mate for John McCain, now he says he won’t be running for President in 2012. Sensible laddie. 2016 is time enough. Apart from anything else, he has to
Tuesday
Not just a soggy old cloth cat…
You know you’re getting old when the people who made the TV programmes you liked as a kid start dying. So, farewell, Oliver Postgate, creator of Ivor the Engine and, of course, the immortal Bagpuss. I suppose those of us born in the mid-1970s (post-Clangers then) were the last for whom Postgate’s work was a
A Scandal in Springfield
Sometimes it’s useful to remember that, despite everything, British politics is, on the whole, markedly less corrupt than politics elsewhere. That, of course, explains why so many of our scandals are disappointingly third or fourth rate. They do things differently in America. Today’ entertainment comes courtesy of Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois, who has
Chicago Hardball
More from the Blagojevich indictment: [I]ntercepted phone conversations between ROD BLAGOJEVICH and others indicate that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is contemplating rescinding his commitment of state funds to benefit Children’s Memorial Hospital because Hospital Executive 1 has not made a recent campaign contribution to ROD BLAGOJEVICH. Really, if you’re not entertained by this then you probably need
Monday
Annals of Chutzpah
Hilarious stuff from Wall Street: Merrill Lynch & Co. chief John Thain has suggested to directors that he get a 2008 bonus of as much as $10 million, but the battered securities firm’s compensation committee is resisting his request, according to people familiar with the situation. As Patrick Appel observes Merrill lost $11 billion and
Friday
DC a State? Why Not Hong Kong II?
Yglesias supports the idea of DC becoming the 51st state. This would be great news for Democrats since the party would be rewarded with a brace of Senators and an additional Congressman. That’s one reason why it will never happen. Still, DC’s lack of voting representation in Congress is a boon for foreign correspondents needing
Why will no-one support independence?
Commenter Rab O’Ruglen doesn’t have much sympathy for the crisis afflicting the Tartan press: While I have every sympathy for those who find themselves in employment difficulties through no fault of their own I cannot say I have any sympathy for the Scottish print medium whatsoever. If you are looking for an example of a