Beer Summit
My late father, a lifelong Democrat, sometimes to an absurd degree, told me two stories about presidents that illustrate why the current Democratic president is …
No Takers
In May 2004, the price of a house in my hometown was going up by about 1% each month. At the time, my wife and …
Word Watch – November 2010
This column ordinarily watches a single type of verbal problem, but sometimes there are just too many problems. One is spotted — then another pops …
Head Counts
This is chapter 1,559,363 in the long-running serial, “Why Don’t the Media Know What All the Rest of Us Do?” On July 17, there was …
Word Watch – October 2010
Cliches: you can’t live with ’em, and you can’t live without ’em. That’s a cliche, too. But some cliches have earned their right to exist. …
Pigs at the Trough
On July 29, a commentator on Fox News responded to a question from Juan Williams about the amazing amount of money that the Clintons devoted …
Ancien Regime
Yes, I do my share of mudslinging at the Democratic administration. And no, I don’t think it’s right for the Democrats to accuse the Republicans …
Preparing to Fail
On July 11, Robert Gibbs, the roly-poly, happy-go-lucky White House press secretary, told a television interviewer that his party might well lose the House in …
Workers’ Paradise
“Raul Castro has made halting efforts to open the economy, while exhorting Cubans to work harder and stop depending on the state for everything” (AP, …
Ends and Means
The ball came bouncing down the sidewalk, and a yell came after it. “Hey, Mr. Brattle! How ’bout a game?” “Yeah, Mr. Brattle! Before you …