But since Republican primary voters don’t seem to be interested in moderate candidates, I suggested a phrase attributed to television pioneer Ernie Kovacs, “Nothing in moderation,” be the party campaign slogan.
A parental decree was issued after my youngest brother got into a tug of war with a candy cane and managed to pull down the Christmas tree, breaking several ornaments, staining the carpet with water from the stand and frightening our puppy, a mutt named Freckles, who stained the carpet some more.
But what to do when the news is good, as was the case when the nation’s unemployment rate fell last month from 9 to 8.6 percent? Blame the pine tar.
Allen’s output comes in for a rare close look this month with the broadcast of an “American Masters” documentary on PBS. It’s a timely tribute, coming as it does on the heels of what has been the durable filmmaker’s most successful movie: this summer’s “Midnight in Paris.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “There are no second acts in American lives.” This was way before reality TV. But it has been more or less true regarding second presidential terms.
@GovernorPerry: I'm skipping the next three debates, @MittRomney’s tax plan and #halloween — in other words, anything scary.
As the Republican presidential primaries kick into high gear and the nation — or that fraction of it that pays attention to politics, anyway — prepares for the 2012 elections, it is perhaps instructive to reflect on just how lucky Americans are.
We’ve had Episcopalian, Baptist, Quaker, Methodist, Congregationalist, Presbyterian, even Unitarian presidents. A Mormon couldn't do any worse. In either case, religion should have nothing to do with it.
When mindless name calling replaces informed analysis; when the argument — and it’s never a philosophical debate anymore, it’s always an argument — is carried not by persuasive reason but by sheer volume: You get a Hank Williams Jr.
Within 10 days of Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed and the president signed $60 billion in Gulf Coast aid. For East Coast states right now, it's day 31.
Just yesterday, I heard a caller say he could remember what happened because he had a photogenic memory. And there was this wonderful complaint from a caller to a national show about two months ago: “They’re just trying to turn us into an escape goat.”
If there was any trace of doubt left that congressional Republicans’ loyalty is to party first and all else second, it was expunged last week when House Speaker John Boehner put off a request from President Obama to speak this Wednesday at a joint session of Congress.
For those of us whose interests don’t include the NFL, there is an alternative: The NPFL (National Political Fantasy League). The rules are simple: Each player selects 15 men and women from the world of politics.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who famously suggested two years ago that his state might secede from the country, now wants to run the country. Perry formally announced his candidacy for president on Saturday, joining the ranks of one of the few categories that have no trouble adding jobs this year: Republican presidential contender.
With U.S. finances topping news reports on a regular basis, it’s hard to get a good Zen going when you’re blowing perfectly good cash on a massage. Likewise, I imagine the shopper’s rush that comes from finding a gorgeous pair of heels is somewhat tempered these days.
True item: I have been invited back to my county fair this year to once again try my unskilled and awkward hand at milking a goat.
I had 50 birthday wishes on Facebook this year. I’ve gotten more email invitations than snail mail ones. And most of my playdates are arranged via text these days.
There is a scene near the beginning of the film “The Godfather: Part II,” in which Michael Corleone meets with Sen. Pat Geary to discuss obtaining a gaming license for a casino he plans to take over. President Obama played the part of Corleone and House Speaker John Boehner played Geary.
Imagine what you could do with 43 percent more money. Weekly spa treatments. A new Porsche. Professional landscaping.
Most politicians have made it clear that their eye isn’t on the debt-ceiling deadline of Aug. 2, 2011; it’s on Nov. 6, 2012 — Election Day. You know who’s going to come out ahead in this debt-ceiling debate? Nobody.
