Archive for the ‘Government’ Category

In which The Gay Recluse holds a contest. Sort of. Today we present a submission from Seth Tisue, who sends in an entry from the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Let’s check it out, shall we? Hot or not…? Are you kidding!!? This is seriously gay and smokin’ hot. Nicely done, Philadelphia! You have not […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Paul Krugman/Taming the Beast The Short Version: We need financial reform. So far none of the candidates seem to have noticed. In his words: “But you don’t have to be an economic radical, or even a vocal reformer like Representative Barney Frank… to […]


In which The Gay Recluse does some investigative reporting and follows up with a complaint. As we’ve documented many times, thick black smoke — a function of improperly maintained or outdated boiler systems — is pretty much a constant of life in Washington Heights. (No coincidence, asthma rates are pretty much through the roof.) Although […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Gail Collins/A Catered Affair The Short Version: Paterson should have left his wife at home. In her words: “Everybody knows there’s only one revenge affair to a customer.” Score: A- (Amusing) We began this column a bit fearfully, but gradually succumbed to Collins’ […]


In which The Gay Recluse rather quickly gets lung cancer. Time and date of morning photograph: March 21, 2008, 7:54am. Time and date of evening photograph: March 21, 2008, 7:34pm The oily black smoke of 100-year-old boilers disperses daily across the rooftops in Washington Heights, heedless of those who suffer from pneumonia, asthma and tuberculosis. […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Paul Krugman/Partying Like It’s 1929 The Short Version: We’re fucked, the only question is exactly how much. In his words: “The financial crisis currently under way is basically an updated version of the wave of bank runs that swept the nation three generations […]


In which The Gay Recluse rather quickly gets lung cancer. Time and Date of morning photograph: March 20, 2008, 6:54am. Notes: One benefit of living in Washington Heights is that it’s truly like the 19th century, not only in the architectural grandeur that splays across the rooftops, but the daily emissions of 100-year-old boilers in […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Nicholas Kristof/Obama and Race The Short Version: Obama gave a great speech the other day. In his words: “Much of the time, blacks have a pretty good sense of what whites think, but whites are oblivious to common black perspectives.” Score: B- (Boring) […]


In which The Gay Recluse considers the reigning state of stupidity, even in nice countries like Canada. Our friend Jeff Weinstein wrote earlier this week with this piece of news, which would be hilarious if it were in a movie, but instead must be viewed as sadly incredible. According to the article, by Tiffany Crawford […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. David Brooks/The Bailout Artists The Short Version: There are reasons why even free-market types should embrace a bailout in the housing crisis. In his words: “It makes sense to try to find some circuit breakers so the housing market doesn’t totally collapse.” Score: A- (Astute) […]


In which The Gay Recluse welcomes a change. If you didn’t get a chance to see David A. Paterson’s speech today, we 100-percent recommend watching the whole thing. (We’d post a link but we couldn’t find one.) By the time he gets to his conclusion: “Let me introduce myself again: my name is David Paterson and I’m […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinions in The Times. (We missed this one because it was apparently taken off-line — or at least the link was taken off the front page — while Kristol addressed his mistakes.) William Kristol/Generation Obama? Perhaps Not The Short Version: Obama’s a fraud (but actually, I’m a fraud). […]


Paul Krugman/The B-Word The Short Version: Bailout! In his words: “As Bear goes, so will go the rest of the financial system.” Score: B+ (Bailout) Krugman predicts more woe for the financial markets, along with an inevitable (and very expensive) buyout. Unfortunately for a lot of people (and U.S. taxpayers), he appears to be right. Roger […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Nicholas Kristof/The Pimps’ Slaves The Short Version: Save the girls! In his words: “Pimps crush runaway girls with a mix of violence and affection, degradation and gifts, and then require absolute obedience to a rigid code: the girl cannot look the pimp in […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Gail Collins/George Speaks, Badly The Short Version: George is a loser. In her words: “Our credit markets are foundering, and all we’ve got is a guy who looks like he’s ready to kick back and start the weekend.” Score: A- (Acerbic) When even […]


In which The Gay Recluse would laugh at government doublespeak (and the media’s reporting of the same) if it were in a novel instead of the real world. Today Jeff Weinstein sent us the following quote from an article in The Times (of London) about the British government’s decision to reopen the asylum case of […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Gail Collins/Unwelcome Surprises The Short Version: Who knew? In her words: “Memo to future disgraced politicians: The nation has discussed this at length, and we do not want to see any more stricken spouses at the press conference. ” Score: B (Boring) We […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Marueen Dowd/Ways of the Wayward The Short Version: Elliot, Geraldine — yikes — problems! In her words: “It makes you wonder how sharp Eliot Spitzer’s pencil was on the state’s fiscal discipline.” Score: B (Blurry) Dowd starts out making fun of Spitzer in […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Bob Herbert/Sharing the Pain The Short Version: More than ever, it sucks to be poor. In his words: “It is disgraceful that in a nation as wealthy as the United States, nearly a third of the people are poor or near-poor.” Score: D- […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Nicholas Kristof/Obama and the Bigots The Short Version: We must teach people not to be such crazy losers. In his words: “Likewise, with countless people today spreading scurrilous rumors that Mr. Obama is a Muslim, the most appropriate response is a denial followed […]