admin

What the … ?

by

Tuesday, November 20, 2007 — A reasonable person might well wonder just what’s going on around here. And we’re not talking about the somewhat unusual motor vehicle depicted above, we’re talking about this operation: the online presence of the nation’s most venerable newspaper. Sorry to disappoint, but the answer is, nothing to get excited about. We’re just bumping along, putting out the paper, and occasionally dropping the ball. Which is why we haven’t posted anything new since 11/11. We did put the paper out last Friday. Skeptics are invited to scrutinize the number and date on our banner, above. There’s a fairly scandalous story on …

Read more

Veterans Day, 2007

by

Sunday, November 11, 2007 — On Veterans Day six years ago the remains of the World Trade Center were still smoking, and the war in Afghanistan had just begun. No one, outside the Bush administration, was thinking that much about Iraq. The idea of attacking Iran would have seemed even crazier than it does now. Lower Manhattan is more orderly today. Afghanistan is more of a wreck. Iraq makes Afghanistan look placid. And people who think attacking Iran would be crazy have only to look back a few years to realize that for some people, crazy is no obstacle. On Veterans Day six years ago, …

Read more

Quitting, Croaking, Sinking, and Burning

by

Saturday, November 10, 2007 — Well, now, we’re got ourselves a brand-new Attorney General. What do you know. Three years to the day since John Ashcroft punched out for the last time. 2004—John Ashcroft, having done enough damage, resigns as Attorney General. His replacement will make him look good. 1982—Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and all-around fun guy, kicks off from a bad ticker. 1975—The Edmund Fitzgerald sinks on Lake Superior, taking with her a crew of 29. 1973—In Drake, North Dakota the school board fires a teacher and burns the book he assigned, Slaughterhouse Five. 1964—In Australia, …

Read more

Strange Justice

by

Friday, November 9, 2007 — If anyone has Charles Justice’s last words (see 1911), please send them along. 1998—NASDAQ brokerage houses pay bilked customers $1 billion fine for rigging the game. 1989—The Berlin Wall becomes porous. 1979—Due to a computer error, for six minutes the U.S. Air Defense Command mistakenly believes that the U.S.S.R. is attacking the U.S. 1969—78 Indians occupy Alcatraz. 1967—Rolling Stone begins publication. 1966—Due to a failure at a single power plant in Ontario the entire northeast is left in the dark. 1953—Dylan Thomas dies in New York at 39. 1942—The first “Liberty Ship,” the Robert E. Peary, is launched. 1938—German Nazis …

Read more

Philandery, Beer, and Bribes

by

Thursday, November 8, 2007 — Perhaps the most optimistic thing we can say about this sordid string of items, is that it tends to put today’s horrors in perspective. 1994—Under the leadership of serial philanderer Newt Gingrich, the Republican Party gains control of Congress. 1983—Moscow puts its nuclear forces on high alert and sends flash telegrams to its embassies warning that a nuclear strike on the U.S.S.R. may come at any time. 1974—Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, disappears without a trace, leaving a dead nanny behind. 1966—Bonzo the Chimp’s former co-star Ronald Reagan is elected Governor of Calif. 1966—The first black U.S. Senator in …

Read more

War, Lies, and Mayhem

by

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 — Here we offer further proof — as if any were needed — of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s telling observation, “[t]hings are more like they are now than they ever were before.” 2002—“War is not my first choice,” lies George W. Bush, “it’s my last choice.” 2000—The American people vote for a president. They get George W. Bush, instead. 1972—Richard Nixon kicks George McGovern’s ass. 1962—Richard Nixon, tells the press they won’t have him to kick around any more. (He lies.) 1940—The crew of the San Demetrio reboard their blazing tanker and put out the fire. Nine days later they reach Ireland. …

Read more