8.8.69

In the summer of ’69 the Beatles were working on what turned out to be —and what they later claimed they knew would be— their last album.  Paul had drawn a stick figure sketch of the band walking across a street, demonstrating his idea for the...

Rules For Witnesses

There is a scene early on in the movie Patton, where the feisty general watches the forces under his command do battle with those led by the legendary German Panzer leader, Erwin Rommel. To prepare for this particular skirmish, “Old Blood and Guts” studied the...

All Politics Is Local

An unexpected turn of events —a veritable Macaca moment— has enlivened the already lively Kentucky 2010 Senate race.  Even before Republican incumbent Jim Bunning announced last week that he won’t be running for re-election, there were fireworks...

Now This Is Why God Invented Twitter

Tanned, rested, and ready for the 21st Century: John Quincy Adams photographed in 1843. The sixth POTUS —John Quincy Adams— has signed up —and not a moment too soon— on Twitter.  He will be posting daily entries from his diaries. As Jeannie...

More On “Inherent Vice”

Last week I posted about Inherent Vice, the new novel by Thomas Pynchon set in Los Angeles during the spring and early summer of 1970 – that is, in the second year of the Nixon Administration. Today the book went on sale nationwide, and to promote it Penguin...

Nixon’s America, Palin’s America

Suggesting that conservatives such as Sarah Palin face political doom, a Daily Kos writer observes: When Richard Nixon won the presidency, the silent majority of Americans was white and conservative. The demographics of this country have changed, and that change is...