Blog

Jean-Simon Berthélemy’s “Alexander Cuts the Gordian Knot” (1767), oil on canvas. École nationale superiéure des Beaux-Arts. Some say Alexander the Great saw where the knot was pinned and so released it; others, that he impatiently cut it with his sw… — Jean-Simon Berthélemy’s “Alexander Cuts the Gordian Knot” (1767), oil on canvas. École nationale superiéure des Beaux-Arts. Some say Alexander the Great saw where the knot was pinned and so released it; others, that he impatiently cut it with his sword. Either way, he fulfilled the prophecy that whoever unraveled the knot would become lord of Asia. Where’s an Alexander now to solve the United Kingdom’s tangled Brexit crisis?

Stay of (Brexit)cution

April 7, 2019

Brexit Day is now Oct. 31, the European Union granting the United Kingdom yet another stay of Brexit-cution, which was supposed to have taken place March 29 and then April 12. Let’s leave aside that Oct. 31 is Halloween. I don’t think the E.U. is ironic enough to have chosen that day for its gallows humor. And indeed Nov. 1 is the day the new president of the European Commission is set to take office, so presumably the E.U. needs to have this resolved by then. But will it be resolved?

Britain's long goodbye

March 20, 2019

Like the student or reporter who simply cannot meet a deadline, the United Kingdom will today ask the European Union for a short (three-month) extension to the March 29 deadline for its leave-taking from that organization. No, that’s not the right analogy. The British are like the soon-to-be-ex hubby, who needs to spend a few more months on your couch as he ponders his commitment to the woman he betrayed you with. How well does that end? The other 27 members of the E.U. must approve such a request. And they’re not inclined to a longer goodbye without a new game plan, which the Brits don’t seem to have. As Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, there’s really no point to the British “whining on for months.” Yes, quite.

Study for Norman Rockwell’s “Murder in Mississippi,” an illustration that accompanied a June 29, 1965 Look magazine article about the June 21, 1964 murders of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Photograph by Louie Lamone. From … — Study for Norman Rockwell’s “Murder in Mississippi,” an illustration that accompanied a June 29, 1965 Look magazine article about the June 21, 1964 murders of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Photograph by Louie Lamone. From the Norman Rockwell Museum.

The week that was (thus far)

February 27, 2019

If you’re a blogger, these are boon times. Every day seems to bring a fresh controversy, a breaking news story.

The art of the schlemiel

February 14, 2019

Seizing defeat from the jaws of victory, President Donald J. Trump has trumpeted his intent to invoke his emergency powers to build a wall on the southern border even as he plans to sign the bipartisan deal to fund the government and avert a shutdown, because, you know, a shutdown is “a terrible thing,” especially if it adversely affects your ratings, er, polling numbers.

Gustave Moreau’s “Delilah” (1896), oil on canvas. Museo de Arte de Ponce.

Donald Trump's female troubles

January 25, 2019

Ann Coulter called Donnie a “wimp.”

And Nancy Pelosi proved she was right.

On yet another Farewell Friday — goodbye, Roger Stone — President Donald J. Trumpet announced that a deal had been made to end the 35-day government shutdown that held 800,000 federal workers and the rest of the nation hostage. Translation: Senate Majority Leader “Mitchie” McConnell told Hair Furor that he didn’t have the votes to keep the repudiated Repubs in line and so Donnie Two Scoops was forced to cave.

William-Adolph Bouguereau’s “Orestes Pursued by the Furies” (1862). oil on canvas. Chrysler Museum of Art. We bet Sen. Mitch McConnell can relate.

A wall named Nancy

January 25, 2019

Sometimes in life you get what you want but do not recognize it. For more than a month, President Donald J. Trump, enabled by the Republicans, has held 800,000 federal workers and, indeed, the entire nation hostage and all for a wall that is designed ostensibly to increase security at the southern border but is really about keeping out the people he considers undesirable.

And yet, Donnie already has a wall.

Her name is Nancy Pelosi. And everywhere he turns, he finds himself up against it, her.

The border on Killeen School Road between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is marked only by a sign in kilometers. What will happen with this open border is one of the sticking points of Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Photograph by Oliver Di… — The border on Killeen School Road between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is marked only by a sign in kilometers. What will happen with this open border is one of the sticking points of Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Photograph by Oliver Dixon.

Splashdown on May's Brexit dream

January 15, 2019

t was an historic day on both sides of the Pond — the 10th anniversary of the “Miracle on the Hudson” when Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the river, saving all 155 aboard, and the day the old Tappan Zee Bridge deliberately went down, taking with it coincidentally Theresa May’s Brexit deal dream as the House of Commons voted by a more than 2 to 1 margin to reject her plan for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.

Greetings!
This site contains intelligent discourse with some mature themes. Engage and enjoy!