Blogs

I wasn't sure on Monday but now it's pretty clear now that Aaron Magruder knew what he was doing when he did a series of strips on Conoleezza Rice's romantic inclinations. It's even possible, depending on how quickly he works, that the new series, which began yesterday with the strip above, is an intentional middle finger aimed at the skittish Washington Post for pulling the strip.

Blogger Felix at MemeFirst is critical of people who bring up the rumor gratuitously, a group in which he mistakenly includes me: "Daniel Radosh while ostensibly criticising the strip, still manages to get in this: 'If you missed it, it hinged on whether Condi preferred black men or white men. And I know what you're thinking: men?' ...People seem willing to use anything to give themselves an excuse to make the allegation: after all, the comic strip is quite explicitly about Condi Rice finding love with a man, and not a woman.

But wait, I wasn't criticizing the strip for trafficking in rumors -- I was criticizing it precisely for avoiding the most pertinent rumor out there. And what Felix thinks I slyly "managed to get in" was in fact central to my point: IF you're going to make jokes about Condi's personal life, you'll just look clueless if you don't tackle the question on everyone's mind (and I neither know nor care what the answer is). Hell, if I wanted to "make the allegation" I wouldn't need an excuse, would I?

Chris Hitchens writes the screed we've been waiting for all day: " More than that, we witnessed the elevation and consecration of extreme dogmatism, blinkered faith, and the cult of a mediocre human personality. Many more people are poor and sick because of the life of Mother Teresa: Even more will be poor and sick if her example is followed. She was a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud, and a church that officially protects those who violate the innocent has given us another clear sign of where it truly stands on moral and ethical questions."

9:05 PM

Good to see Boondocks back in form after that unfunny and way off base Condoleezza Rice series. If you missed it, it hinged on whether Condi preferred black men or white men. And I know what you're thinking: men?. I read carefully for signs that McGruder was going to wink at the big rumor (which I cracked wise about for the first issue of Radar, though the piece was ulitmately spiked) but he never did. Still, Richard Blow is half right when he speculates about McG's motive -- regardless of where the strip went, the Washington Post obviously killed it because they were afraid it might be read that way. Come to think of it, if McG's intent was to force the Post to acknowledge the rumor by pulling the strip without him having to even say it, that's kind of genius. Still, today's strip is funnier in itself, isn't it?

10:00 AM

"Sexy, daring — and improving weekly — Coupling is proving to be a swinging sitcom." — The Oct. 28 Star on this week's AWOL episode.

1:48 PM

I've always liked Gregg Easterbrook as an essayist, even when I disagreed with him. He's thoughtful, analytical, and a good writer. But in his new blog, he's the opposite of all those. I can't even understand it. Perhaps it's actually written by a monkey manipulating the keyboard with its mind.

I understand why The New Republic thought giving Easterbrook a soapbox would be a good idea, but I'm sure they're regretting it now. Here's a sampling of his recent ramblings, poorly thought out and constructed even by blog standards.

Gregg on snowmobiles:

I can attest that the sound of snowmobiles shattering the snowy calm is quite maddening. But then again, if public lands are public lands, what do we do about the fact that many average people enjoy snowmobiling? Manhattan chardonnay-circuit tut-tutting about the rustic rubes on their snowmobiles--see this New York Times editorial--never takes into account the populist aspect. And what about the snowmobile sales and service industry, a significant sector in some mountain states? Snowmobiles in Yellowstone should be banned, the Times tut-tuts, and the snowmobile economy should "adjust to the new reality." Imagine if residents of Montana demanded that there be no noisy garbage trucks in Manhattan, that noisy printing presses be banned and The New York Times "adjust to the new reality."

Finally, years of forcing myself to listen to Rush Limbaugh pay off! That's what I imagine Bill McClellan thought when he finished this gem of a column, in which an alternate-universe Rush mocks Oxy-addict Bill Clinton. Usually when columnists write in someone else's voice, the result is a disaster, but McClellan nails Limbaugh so well that I actually found myself thinking, "I can't believe that bastard Clinton is getting away with this!"

6:28 PM

If The Onion wasn't still smarting from having made fun of Roy like two days before he got mauled, this week it probably couldn't have done better than to simply reprint this real headline.

2:55 PM

A few months ago, Rose alerted Radosh.net readers to a comically inappropriate inline ad on The New York Times Web site. Now she tops herself with this creepy discovery.

Update:This image only works large but displaying it on the page was throwing off my margins. It's worth looking at, though, and you can see it here

Hmm. Maybe I should post this on Let's Twins! too.

12:54 PM

Onancock Baptist Church. I wonder if the youth group is able to get through even a single session without hysterical giggling fits.

6:28 PM

The Habitrail implications alone are staggering.

10:12 PM