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Category: Humor
Eagles having a perfect season for Philly fans
Great that the Eagles are having another good / bad season. Mostly winning but not playing so well that we don’t have something to complain about. Continue reading
Jack Nicholson’s Kids
I was surprised to find out today that Jack Nicholson has five children with seven different women. Continue reading
Taking the terrorist threat seriouslyor how the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security protects us
I wrote this piece in September. when newspaper reports revealed that the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security had spent a large sum of money to hire some “experts” to provide it, and the state’s police departments with intelligence about terrorist threats. I sent it to the Inquirer op-ed editor. He was out of town and by the time he returned the moment had passed to publish it. I forgot about it in the run up to the election. But I’ve been told it’s funny, so here it is. The report of the contents of PA Actionable Intelligence Brief #137 is true. The liberal media is once again fomenting outrage at the government by attention to the $103,000 contract that the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security signed with the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response to provide timely intelligence about possible terrorist threats. But in all the hubbub that the liberal… Continue reading
How We Won Health Care Reform in Pennsylvania: A Bizarro Fantasy
Reposted from YPP on Tue, 10/21/2008 – 12:13am. I was in the audience at a taping of a program on WHYY TV on health care reform tonight. And now I know how we managed to get PA ABC, Governor Rendell’s program to insure another quarter of million people, through the Senate. Continue reading
The BPT: the bane of Philadephia
When I worked for SEIU I was limited in what i could blog. So I wrote this under an assumed name for Young Philly Politics. Before citing it, please read the note at the end. You would think that, with the Nutter administration securing a substantial victory on tax policy, talk of the “job-killing business tax” would be on the decline. Continue reading
Single Moo Milk
Blogging here will be a little light for a few days as I take a little trip north. And that reminds me of a story I heard during my last trip. In an effort to spur their economy, Vermont farmers are taking a leaf from makers of Scotch. They are soon going to start marketing high-end milk and cheese products from particular farms that, they claim, have distinctive tastes as a result of the grass and water eaten by their cows. The marketing firms have not decided what to call this designer milk. My suggestion is in the title to this post. Note: when I first posted this, ACM commented: heh, not sure that people want to be reminded of the biological specificity of their milk, but who knows. I distinctly remember as a kid (when you’re drinking a lot of milk straight), noticing the change of taste when the… Continue reading
The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.
When was the last time a Vice President shot a man? First correct answer gets a free, lifetime subscription to Marc Stier at Large. Thanks to Karl Marx for the title. In the 18th Brumaire of Louis Napolean he writes “Hegel says that history repeats itself. He forgot to add the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” And no, David Horowitz, knowing this quotation does not make me a Marxist. PS Does anyone know what a Brumaire is? 7 Responses to “The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce” acm Says: February 16th, 2006 at 11:25 am e hint: it involved a duel, not a hunt… Matthew Flaschen Says: February 16th, 2006 at 7:53 pm e Alexander Hamilton shot rival Aaron Burr in a duel. Matthew Flaschen Says: February 16th, 2006 at 9:05 pm e Err, other way around. TRAY Says: February 16th, 2006 at… Continue reading
SEPTA and Snidely Whiplash
Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 9, 2003 The villain in this transit drama could be state officials or the “heroine.” Philadelphia-area residents are watching the theatrical melodrama “Saving SEPTA, 2003,” and Act IV has begun. The scene is set in Harrisburg, with Gov. Rendell, House Speaker John Perzel (R., Phila.), and Senate Majority Leader David Brightbill (R., Lebanon) in starring roles. Perched at the edge of our seats, we are waiting to see whether these three characters will redeem themselves, rescuing our flawed heroine, SEPTA, and saving the communities she serves. Act I began when the trio threatened our heroine by passing a budget that cut appropriations by $11 million. We were left wondering whether Rendell, Perzel and Brightbill were black-caped villains who wanted to force workers, widows and children from jobs and schools accessible only by public transit. Or were they good men who, in a moment reminiscent… Continue reading