Alby's Latest Posts
‘Bernie Bernstein’ Robocall Backfires
The laughably anti-Semitic robocall* from “Washington Post reporter Bernie Bernstein” offering “$5,000 to $7,000” for stories about Roy Moore that would not be checked for legitimacy might seem like an incredibly stupid maneuver. The truth is it happens in every close election, and not just when Republicans are involved. Every political aide and operative you […]
Open Thread Nov. 15: Creeps, Tweets and Balance Sheets
When You’ve Lost Hannity…: Sean Hannity has seen the light, in the form of a yearbook signature. He gave Roy Moore 24 hours to get his story straight or he’s dropping his support. Elf Abuse: Jeff Sessions made lots of headlines for his testimony on Russia-related matters, but for sheer schadenfreude you can’t top the 5-minute flaying […]
Will Trump Survive Tell-All ‘Fire and Fury’?
Consider this an early New Year’s present: On Jan. 9, Henry Holt will publish Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which Axios says has set off a frenzy among White House players wanting to know what it says about them. Wolff is a polarizing figure and not the world’s most accurate […]
Open Thread Nov. 14: Trump, Moore and the Keurig War
The news bombs are dropping fast and furious on both the Roy Moore and Russian collusion fronts. The Atlantic rocked the Russian collusion story by printing the secret email correspondence between Fredo Don Jr.and Johnny Ola Wikileaks. Trump is fighting back by, um, trumping up some charges, any charges, against Hillary Clinton, and Jeff Sessions […]
Tea and Clickbait: Kompromat, Corruption and Owl Orgasms
Jonathan Chait analyzes why Trump talks about Putin as if Putin’s his boss. The upshot: kompromat. He makes an unprovable but decent case. California passed a law forcing “crisis pregnancy centers” to disclose that abortion is an option. Opponents have taken their objections to the Supreme Court, but as Dahlia Lithwick explains, if that law […]
Will Joe Give It a Go? I Say No
A lot of people think Joe Biden is going to gird his loins for presidential battle one last time in 2020. He’s out peddling his new memoir, “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose,” and dropping lots of hints that he wishes he had run in 2016. As I noted this morning, […]
Police Thwart Rally Violence With TSA Tactic
Remember those White Lives Matter rallies in Tennessee a couple of weeks ago, the ones that notably lacked the violence of the Charlottesville fiasco? There was a reason for that, and hats off to police forces who understand psychology and not just ballistics: Police slow-walked both protesters and counter-protesters through TSA-style security checkpoints. I saw […]
Open Thread Nov. 13: Joe, the Port and Smash That Keurig
Joe Fever is sweeping the nation — well, the part of the nation where Delaware is situated — as everyone speculates on whether he will run for president again in 2020. The signals so far are mixed, which is exactly the right tone to set on his book tour, because the speculation equals publicity. So […]
Sunday Breakfast Links: Open Thread, Nov. 12
Question of the day comes from Lucian Truscott, who asks “WTF is wrong with rich people?” I have to say, I don’t have a clue what’s up with rich people. I mean, I’ve got friends here in Sag Harbor who do stuff like building teak decks and painting houses and plumbing and electrical work, and […]
GOP: Grabby Old Perverts
In blackjack, doubling down is what you do when you’re holding a 10 or 11 and the dealer shows a bust card. In politics, it’s just what Republicans do. Every. Single. Time. Is Roy Moore chastened by revelations that he liked to rock the cradle of love? He is not. In fact, he assured people […]
Open Thread, Nov. 11: Saturday Scrapple
When it comes to judges, I like ’em well-seasoned. Republicans like ’em raw. Yesterday every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted for a 36-year-old twerp who has only practiced law for three years and never tried a case. Real raw. Bellyache raw. Louis C.K.’s apology got a mixed reception from critics and the public […]
Field Guide to Conservatives
I don’t know where this came from originally but it’s too good to pass up: Things conservatives find offensive: Pink Pussy Hats Rainbow Flags ObamaCare “Happy Holidays” NFL Players kneeling Things conservatives don’t find offensive: White Hoods Tiki Torches Pedophiles Pussy Grabbing Colluding w/ Russia
Can a Harasser Truly Apologize? Louis C.K. Gives It a Try
The tsunami of stories about men behaving badly is sweeping the worlds of celebrity and politics so fast that nobody who has been accused has been able to come up with a convincing apology for past behavior. So let’s see how Louis C.K.’s mea culpa is received. “These stories are true,” he wrote in a […]
Recent Comments