BrooklynC's Comments (17)

“I suppose he will soon publish a diet book The Bland Diet.”

“What does this mean? Are you addressing haters on the left or the right? Are you speaking in code?”

“Well, Paul, another story to relate to my kids besides seeing you at the Village Theater before it was the Fillmore, the wisdom of The Realist, and the sour looks you and Abby gave my best friend and me at Woodstock before it started raining--all we did was say hello.”

“I don't care if CNN leaves this slob on the air, but I do wish they would remove the middle N from CNN. As with Fox, news has nothing to do with it.”

“Your comments are fair. Pawn shops are a fact of life anywhere incomes are declining, but there is a much higher concentration in casino towns, which means to me that incomes are declining precipitously. Pawn shops are not a problem in and of themselves, but as a symptom of social pathology, we ought to look at the pathology. As for alcohol being available online, I can only guess that buying fine wine that takes days to arrive doesn't constitute the same public health threat that half pints of booze, or gallons of Mad Dog--priced for impulse buying--do. The profusion of lotteries is a disgrace and a nuisance, as anyone who has stood for ten minutes in the line at a convenience store waiting for people to piss their money away can attest. This was supposed to be a supplement for tax revenues earmarked for education, but turned into fuel for the states' own addiction, like cigarette taxes. That said, if there were no lotteries, we would see the mass revival of the numbers.

As you indicate, my real concern is people who spend their own money, their family's money, and their credit card balances, at rates that are approaching usury (also legal), and thus falling into a trap that they can't escape. I don't care how people spend their time. Gambling, drinking, smoking cigars, cheeseburgers--anything in moderation.”

“Gee, Annie, you write as well as you play--well, maybe not that well. Give my regards to your father, who was once a guest in my house. I hope that in your reasoned approach to internet poker you are giving some thought to protecting those with addictive tendencies from the pathetic consequences of their behavior. The abundance of pawn shops in casino towns is testimony to the pernicious effects of gambling for some individuals. Access to credit ought to be regulated so that Dads and Moms, as well as kids, can't lose a lot more than they're worth. I know that such regulation seems a trifle in the wake of the sub-prime meltdown, but that's part of the solution both on Wall St. and on the strip.”

“Nice situation. But it's hardly tenable for every divorced couple.”

“Greater minds than hers have been guilty of the same transgression. Of course that isn't saying much. You can imagine the problem of recruiting writers. Your reading has to keep up with hers, and she reads everything, only she can't name what it is.”

“As someone once said about Michael Jackson when his book contract was announced, Ok, maybe he can write, but can he read?”

“Unfortunately, Mr. Klein's early successes in shaking up the school bureaucracy in New York were his last. Principals and teachers alike have been demoralized by the continual reorganizations and empty evaluations. Success is measured by tests that are dumbed down to show progress. His ideas here about loosening criteria to attract enthusiastic and talented people to the teaching profession, but they ring hollow in light of the fact that a system-wife directive has frozen new hires, forcing recruitment of the thousands of teachers still on the payroll but made redundant.”

“If you respect the man so highly, the least you can do is spell his name correctly.”

“I continue to predict that she will be a host on QVC in three years.”

“This is the man who served his wife with divorce papers while she was lying in the hospital with cancer, the man who said that his avoidance of military service in the Vietnam era was prudent patriotism because the war was being mismanaged, and whose favored form of recreation during his busy (and married) career in Congress was delivered to him at, or under, his desk. His sister deserves a lot of credit for this eloquent piece.”

“I share your dismay at the Times' obtuseness on this. Why does McCain's resistance to utilizing the oil reserve constitute wisdom? What does that make his new-found advocacy for drilling? One would increase supply (and perhaps lower prices) now. The other will have little effect on supply for years, if ever, although McCain believes it will give us all a psychological lift to know that better times await. By this logic, my mood should lift now because in ten years I will be eligible for subsidized anti-depressants through Medicare. Whoopee! I feel better already.”

“I wouldn't count on the big c saving you from dementia. Nicotine aggravates dementia. It's a horrible affliction. I know--I just watched my father died after years of suffering from progressive dementia. He smoked a pipe for 40 years. No mouth cancer, no throat cancer, no emphysema, just years of sinking into an infantile state. It sucks.”

“I'd like to ask Ms. Goodling what they taught her at bible school that encouraged her to worship a mere mortal (with emphasis on the "mere"). That icky language--isn't that supposed to be reserved for a "real" Messiah?”

“Sounds ok, but what will happen when those 5 to 8 insurance companies designated start to make money the old fashioned way, by lagging their payments and arguing each bill hoping people will die before they have to settle?”