I was intrigued to read in early October about the sale at auction, for nearly $4 million, of a map. It wasn’t, naturally, just any map: It was the first atlas of the world ever printed, from 1477, based on the cartographic calculations of Claudius Ptolemaeus, the chap we call Ptolemy, who lived in Roman […]
Michael Tomasky
Michael Tomasky is the American editor-at-large of the Guardian (UK). He was executive editor of the Prospect from 2003 to 2006.
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WATCH IT, PAL.
WATCH IT, PAL. Listen, Pierce: Andrew Natsios is my next-door neighbor. I�ve never met the man, but I consider an attack on him to be an attack on all of Woodside Park. And those rumors that he wants to build a $312 billion vehicular tunnel under Clement St. are just that! –Michael Tomasky
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JUST REMEMBER.
JUST REMEMBER. Every time McCain does something that Richard Cohen likes, his chances of winning the GOP nomination decrease. So, rather than get upset when center-libs throw themselves at McCain, you folks ought to rejoice, because every instance of such makes it that much less likely that the R�s most formidable man will gain his […]
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ONE-AND-A-HALF CHEERS FOR WARNER.
ONE-AND-A-HALF CHEERS FOR WARNER. Okay, he�s trying to fashion himself the common-good candidate, so naturally I hold a soft spot in my heart for Mark Warner. So take that for what it�s worth as I offer an alternate theory of the case to Ezra�s. Here, to me, is the big 2008 picture (assume for the […]
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Desperation Time
On the recent fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, President Bush visited all three sites of the mayhem — the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the courageous passengers took down United Flight 93; the Pentagon, long since rebuilt; and Manhattan’s ground zero, earth onto which New York’s bickering and feeble Republican politicians have managed […]
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OBSCENE.
OBSCENE. Both the Times and the Post note this morning that Bush laid two wreaths at ground zero last night in the company of George Pataki, Mike Bloomberg, and Rudy Giuliani. The Post goes well out of its way to remark that the event �left aside the partisan rancor� that�well, that Bush & Co. have […]
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SORRY, NOT SORRY.
SORRY, NOT SORRY. I realize this is not a mystery that ranks up there with whether the president really read a biography of Chairman Mao, but I suppose I should clarify that no, we won�t be apologizing to Karl Rove as per David Broder�s suggestion today. Broder cites a Salon piece by my friend Sidney […]
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RANDOM NUTMEG NOTES….
RANDOM NUTMEG NOTES. First of all, my guess (it�s only a guess) is that Lieberman will drop out. I said why in the last paragraph of this Web piece last week, but it bears repeating. Establishment Democrats want to take back the Senate. Period. They don�t want any distractions. From the day he announced until […]
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COMPLETELY OFF-MESSAGE FRIDAY AFTERNOON POST.
COMPLETELY OFF-MESSAGE FRIDAY AFTERNOON POST. I noticed a couple weeks ago that Kevin Drum had a post laying out his wise strategy for avoiding sales clerks. So if he can do that one, I can unload with this. What bugs me is receipts. In this town, sales clerks everywhere are ceaselessly forcing sales receipts into […]
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OH, I SEE THE DIFFERENCE.
OH, I SEE THE DIFFERENCE. Over at the Corner, they�ve been trying to poke holes in E.J. Dionne�s Post column today about the collapse of conservatism. The most beguiling entry is by Kate O�Beirne: E.J.’s eulogy for conservatism�recognizes that moderates in the largely conservative party have to be accommodated. True. That’s the fate of a […]