Becket and More

Hey, guess what?! A few weeks ago, the GDP dropped to a new low. Like, a low  low. Like worse than the Great Depression low. What's that? You did't hear about it? Well, I'm not surprised. See, the same day that report came out, Donald Trump first tweeted his suggestion that the election be postponed. A suggestion that, rightfully, took over the news cycle like Godzilla took over Tokyo. This event lead us once again to the eternal question: do these media slights-of-hand reveal 45 to be a political genius, a puppet of diabolical handlers, or a very lucky idiot? Personally I argue some combination of all three, the exact composition changing on a day-to-day basis. Although, I'd never accuse Trump of genius , per se. All political acumen requires a high degree of low animal cunning. That day, the day of the GDP drop and the election mishigas, he was mostly a lucky idiot. Given the economy's  COVID-19-induced free fall, bad economic news is more or less a daily occurren...

  Beloveds, I miss Molly Ivins like hell. There just hasn't been anyone like her writing on politics since she passed in 2005.  No one else has that fierce joy, or that sense of the ridiculous. No one else has that way of bringing us all together, making us think, and making us laugh out loud all at the same time.  *shakes fist at cancer yet again* Gail Collins is a little too silly (and lets Brooks and Stephenson get away with too much), and Dog knows Maureen Dowd can't laugh at herself. E. J. Dionne , while awesomely talented and intelligent (and my current favorite non-fiction Catholic writer), is so very earnest, and Eugene Robinson , at least right now, is too important. Besides, Molly's voice was a woman's, which is still in short supply. As I sat recently contemplating my navel and these unfortunate circumstances, a stray thought occurred to me: Could I be the Molly Ivins I wish to see in the world? Let's find out.