JVL, I hope you and your family had a lovely Christmas. My household is sad about Hanukkah ending. I just wanted to let you know that the essay by Clare Coffey on “It’s a Wonderful Life” cut right to the heart, and brought tears to my eyes. Thanks so very much for publishing it. I expressed my thanks to her via Twitter.
Rod Laver was an exceptional player - the Rockhampton Rocket was short (that is true) but you are measured in the time you played. He so clearly dominated the game before he went professional - he was broke in a time when travelling from Australia all around the western world to play demanded a sponsor - instead he was from a humble rural Queensland (think of Alabama in the 1950s) lower middle class family- he had to go professional and thus concede an extraordinary number of championships - when he returned to the ‘metrics’ he cleaned up - in the end, Rod’s class is vindicated by modern day peers and none more so than Raph and the Fed
Rod Laver turned me into a tennis fan. Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Bjorn Borg, et. al, cemented it. I also read a great essay in my uncle’s old school textbook by Don Budge about why he looked up to Bill Tilden.
JL, the cruel (I guess) irony of Trump/old is that the man is afraid of death, and this animates (pardon the mixed metaphor) his behavior to a degree not really investigated. Why did he slag Gold Star parents, mock John McCain for being a POW, regard dead soldiers as dopes and dupes, insult John Dingell’s family, refuse to truly lead during Covid? Because this emotionally neutered narcissistic man-child believes he can slither or slander his way out of anything, but he knows he can’t beat death. And it terrifies him. Take my idea and run with it.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all of you in the below freezing, snow smothered parts of the country - stay safe, and stay HOME - if they love you, they should understand it isn't safe out there!
Trump is done. That may be premature, but, I think he's done. The actuarial table has caught up with him. The alleged campaign launch was lifeless. He is speaking to OAN (odd choice)...he's having dinner with Whatever-Name-Kanye-West-Is-Using-This-Week...he's not doing "campaign events"...he's sitting on his ass and doing whatever Truth Social is. I told people years ago that if you close your eyes and listen to Trump speak, he sounded like an elderly person. Well, now his mind has caught up with the voice, and he is an elderly person in a full sense. MAGA/Trump Supporters need to just give it a rest--if this is the best you have, then you have nothing. Large chunks of the population are turning on the Rule by The Elderly that we have had going for several years. Trump, Biden , Pelosi, McConnell, Hoyer, Schumer-- all are over 65, and Schumer is the only one under 70. I am of the view that the Presidency, the Senate, the House, the Federal Judiciary ALL should be age limited at 70--you hit 70, you retire, period. If we can have age minimums for federal office, then we sure as hell can have age maximums. We as voters need to start demanding age caps on elected federal office and the federal bench. It is not age discrimination if age minimums are already on the books.
I don't agree with age caps per se. I'm surrounded by older people here (and I'm 71!), and they have more energy than people half their age, and more mental awareness - look at the junk younger people are getting fed on social media and "entertainment". But they should be taking real cognitive and medical tests, not the kind that loony Jackson gave Trump.
Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah, Miss Eva. Respectfully, I disagree. One of the contributing factors to the collapse of the Soviet Union was that it had become a deeply entrenched gerontocracy. I do not want that to take root here. I agree that *some* older Americans are as sharp as ginsu knives, but I see them as exceptions. Most are not. If an age 70 cap is in place, then we encourage turnover & encourage new thinking on policy. It's not me saying "Old people suck", but it is me saying we need to break the pattern before the pattern becomes the problem.
I find myself citing articles and essays from Bulwark on a regular basis; and it is due to the clarity and decency of your work. I have also appreciated the breadth of your reporting and how the staff seems to have their respective beats that they are able to cover with such expertise. I look forward to coming to Bulwark for sensible - and, thus, hopeful - dispatches from all fronts.
You and everyone else at The Bulwark have created a sane space in these insane times we live in. You are living proof that Americans have not entirely lost their ability to talk and listen to each other across our differences. Thank you.
Happy Christmas,JVL. WE know what you’ve done (and we appreciate it). Another year over and a new one just begun.
Surprised I didn’t see more comments about Serena not being the top woman in the tennis rankings. Her dominance when healthy and her sheer raw power, not to mention longevity, makes her my personal #1. I also think Graff, who I am also a big fan of, benefited more than was acknowledged by Seles’ absence. Oh well, thanks for the share!
Serena is one of the greatest, but not the greatest. Martina has 167 career match titles (including 9 Wimbledon singles titles & she has the box set for all 4 Slam tournaments). Chrissie has the highest career winning percentage of *any* tennis player. Steffi is the only player since Margaret Court to win the calendar year Grand Slam. Remember, in the second half of her career, Serena was focusing exclusively on Slams. Not a ding on her, but when you only really play Slams, your record has a faint asterisk on it.
Once again the world has grown cold for lack of the sun's love (a tip of the hat to Donald Barthelme) and winter has fallen upon us without mercy. But bleak though this moment be there are better times ahead. It will be in the mid-forties here in a few days.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays, however you celebrate them, to everyone at the Bulwark and all the good people here.
Wait 'till you're a grandfather and hit a Lego piece kneeling down to keep the tree watered. At least popcorn kernels don't have sharp edges.
I'm sorry Donald Trump isn't still having fun - not.
JVL, I hope you and your family had a lovely Christmas. My household is sad about Hanukkah ending. I just wanted to let you know that the essay by Clare Coffey on “It’s a Wonderful Life” cut right to the heart, and brought tears to my eyes. Thanks so very much for publishing it. I expressed my thanks to her via Twitter.
Rod Laver was an exceptional player - the Rockhampton Rocket was short (that is true) but you are measured in the time you played. He so clearly dominated the game before he went professional - he was broke in a time when travelling from Australia all around the western world to play demanded a sponsor - instead he was from a humble rural Queensland (think of Alabama in the 1950s) lower middle class family- he had to go professional and thus concede an extraordinary number of championships - when he returned to the ‘metrics’ he cleaned up - in the end, Rod’s class is vindicated by modern day peers and none more so than Raph and the Fed
My subscription to this site has been vindicated by the 2nd footnote. It speaks to me.
Rod Laver turned me into a tennis fan. Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Bjorn Borg, et. al, cemented it. I also read a great essay in my uncle’s old school textbook by Don Budge about why he looked up to Bill Tilden.
JL, the cruel (I guess) irony of Trump/old is that the man is afraid of death, and this animates (pardon the mixed metaphor) his behavior to a degree not really investigated. Why did he slag Gold Star parents, mock John McCain for being a POW, regard dead soldiers as dopes and dupes, insult John Dingell’s family, refuse to truly lead during Covid? Because this emotionally neutered narcissistic man-child believes he can slither or slander his way out of anything, but he knows he can’t beat death. And it terrifies him. Take my idea and run with it.
Tell that wank he can Polar This !!
And chestnuts will always be roasting on the fire !!
What a putz !!!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all of you in the below freezing, snow smothered parts of the country - stay safe, and stay HOME - if they love you, they should understand it isn't safe out there!
Trump is done. That may be premature, but, I think he's done. The actuarial table has caught up with him. The alleged campaign launch was lifeless. He is speaking to OAN (odd choice)...he's having dinner with Whatever-Name-Kanye-West-Is-Using-This-Week...he's not doing "campaign events"...he's sitting on his ass and doing whatever Truth Social is. I told people years ago that if you close your eyes and listen to Trump speak, he sounded like an elderly person. Well, now his mind has caught up with the voice, and he is an elderly person in a full sense. MAGA/Trump Supporters need to just give it a rest--if this is the best you have, then you have nothing. Large chunks of the population are turning on the Rule by The Elderly that we have had going for several years. Trump, Biden , Pelosi, McConnell, Hoyer, Schumer-- all are over 65, and Schumer is the only one under 70. I am of the view that the Presidency, the Senate, the House, the Federal Judiciary ALL should be age limited at 70--you hit 70, you retire, period. If we can have age minimums for federal office, then we sure as hell can have age maximums. We as voters need to start demanding age caps on elected federal office and the federal bench. It is not age discrimination if age minimums are already on the books.
I don't agree with age caps per se. I'm surrounded by older people here (and I'm 71!), and they have more energy than people half their age, and more mental awareness - look at the junk younger people are getting fed on social media and "entertainment". But they should be taking real cognitive and medical tests, not the kind that loony Jackson gave Trump.
Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah, Miss Eva. Respectfully, I disagree. One of the contributing factors to the collapse of the Soviet Union was that it had become a deeply entrenched gerontocracy. I do not want that to take root here. I agree that *some* older Americans are as sharp as ginsu knives, but I see them as exceptions. Most are not. If an age 70 cap is in place, then we encourage turnover & encourage new thinking on policy. It's not me saying "Old people suck", but it is me saying we need to break the pattern before the pattern becomes the problem.
Sorry, but I gave up on Christmas when the Retail Merchants' Association began grading us on our Black Friday performance.
That's not Christmas's fault - that's the fault of those who succumb to the greed/give-me culture.
",,,“but I am outside of Mar-a-Lago quite a bit."
There is the early bird at the Olive Garden in West Palm... .
I find myself citing articles and essays from Bulwark on a regular basis; and it is due to the clarity and decency of your work. I have also appreciated the breadth of your reporting and how the staff seems to have their respective beats that they are able to cover with such expertise. I look forward to coming to Bulwark for sensible - and, thus, hopeful - dispatches from all fronts.
You and everyone else at The Bulwark have created a sane space in these insane times we live in. You are living proof that Americans have not entirely lost their ability to talk and listen to each other across our differences. Thank you.
Happy Christmas,JVL. WE know what you’ve done (and we appreciate it). Another year over and a new one just begun.
Surprised I didn’t see more comments about Serena not being the top woman in the tennis rankings. Her dominance when healthy and her sheer raw power, not to mention longevity, makes her my personal #1. I also think Graff, who I am also a big fan of, benefited more than was acknowledged by Seles’ absence. Oh well, thanks for the share!
Serena is one of the greatest, but not the greatest. Martina has 167 career match titles (including 9 Wimbledon singles titles & she has the box set for all 4 Slam tournaments). Chrissie has the highest career winning percentage of *any* tennis player. Steffi is the only player since Margaret Court to win the calendar year Grand Slam. Remember, in the second half of her career, Serena was focusing exclusively on Slams. Not a ding on her, but when you only really play Slams, your record has a faint asterisk on it.
What a bloodless way to rank real live humans. Seems souless to me.
Once again the world has grown cold for lack of the sun's love (a tip of the hat to Donald Barthelme) and winter has fallen upon us without mercy. But bleak though this moment be there are better times ahead. It will be in the mid-forties here in a few days.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays, however you celebrate them, to everyone at the Bulwark and all the good people here.
Let's hope for a better year in the coming 2023.
Definitely a Northern Hemisphere-centric view.
Hey I don't understand how folks in the southern hemisphere can live standing upside down!