Related commentaries: Game of chicken over US debt ceiling Read more.
Governing concepts that mean absolutely nothing to Tea Party revolutionaries
Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 5:35 AM
Archives for July 2011
Airbrushed models banned in the UK. Hallelujah!
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 5:43 AM
With all of the focus lately on sublime issues like African famine, celebrity deaths and brinkmanship over the U.S. debt ceiling, perhaps this commentary on the ridiculous trend of airbrushing images of women will provide a welcome diversion. A female friend sent me an airbrushed photo of herself a couple days ago and asked what I thought.… Read more.
Remembering Amy Winehouse
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:06 AM
I mentioned Amy Winehouse’s death yesterday, but only as an afterthought in my commentary on Lucian Freud’s death. The backlash was swift and furious. Her fans made me realize I had shown unwitting disrespect. However, my disrespect wasn’t in what I wrote but in treating it as an afterthought. I hope this commentary shows Winehouse the respect she deserves. Remembering… Read more.
Lucian Freud, realist painter, is dead. (So is Amy Winehouse…)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 5:07 AM
In this age of pop music, hip hop, Twitter, Facebook and even Google doodles, I fully appreciate that the notion of an old portrait artist being a celebrity seems rather quaint. Yet there’s no denying that artist Lucian Freud was an A-list celebrity. Granted, the fact that he was the grandson of one of the most… Read more.
UPDATE: President and Speaker give dueling TV addresses on debt ceiling
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 5:24 AM
Last night President Obama (for the Democrats) and House Speaker John Boehner (for the Republicans) gave back-to-back, nationally televised addresses on the stalemate in negotiations to raise the government’s debt ceiling to avoid default as well as the economic Armageddon that would trigger. But anyone hoping to hear anything that would indicate a resolution to this looming… Read more.
Washington’s political food fight over the debt ceiling
Monday, July 25, 2011 at 8:00 AM
I appreciate that many of you are surprised, if not disappointed, that I have not commented on the ongoing bickering between Republicans (led by House Speaker John Boehner) and Democrats (led by President Barack Obama) over raising the U.S. government’s debt ceiling. Truth be told, I’ve just been loath to dignify the sausage-making process these… Read more.
Norway’s Timothy McVeigh perpetrates national massacre
Saturday, July 23, 2011 at 6:02 AM
UPDATE (Sunday, July 24 at 4:40 pm) His motive As I indicated in my original commentary below, expecting psychopaths to have a reasonable explanation for their behavior is oxymoronic. And the explanation this one is proffering for his rampage only reinforces this point. According to his self-published manifesto (and no psycho worth his salt would… Read more.
Somalia: another famine and drought crisis in Africa
Friday, July 22, 2011 at 5:23 AM
I know, I know: reading about the scourge of famine and drought in Africa is like reading about the menace of guns and drugs in America. And, truth be told, I harbor no illusions that anything I write will have any bearing on the looming fate of millions who are now competing with wild animals… Read more.
UPDATE on UK phone hacking: the Parliamentary hearings
Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 5:21 AM
Professionals in the Northeast were as tuned in to Tuesday’s Parliamentary hearings as soccer moms in the Midwest were tuned in to Sunday’s World Cup match. Where watching the match was a thrill a minute, however, watching the hearings was like watching white paint dry – with the only moment of excitement coming when a… Read more.
UK phone-hacking scandal: Resignations, a beleaguered PM, summonses and a dead body…
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 7:07 AM
Dear Readers I apologize for the technical difficulties that prevented many of you from accessing this site yesterday. Because of this, I have decided to reprise yesterday’s post, which was published at 5:17 am. I appreciate your patience. Thank you. ALH ___________________ I know this story is playing out like a television drama series: Dallas or Dynasty comes… Read more.