Posts Tagged ‘The New York Times’

In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Gail Collins/A Black Hole Rating System The Short Version: Well, these are not exactly the best of times. In her words: “Let’s prioritize. Rank all your causes for concern on a scale of: ! (unfortunate development) to !!!!! (Large Hadron Collider has a […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Maureen Dowd/The Hillary Waltz The Short Version: Whoever wins, the battle has been good for Democrats. In her words: “One of the most valuable lessons the gritty Hillary can teach the languid Obama — and the timid Democrats — is that the whole […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. David Brooks/Pitching with Purpose The Short Version: The key to life (and baseball) is mental discipline. In his words: “Not long ago, Americans saw the rise of a therapeutic culture that placed great emphasis on self-discovery, self-awareness and self-expression.” Score: D (Destroyed) Although we […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Paul Krugman/The Dilbert Strategy The Short Version: Any “reform” of the financial markets proposed by the Bush administration is a joke. In his words: “Oh, and the Bush administration actively blocked state governments when they tried to protect families against predatory lending.” Score: […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Frank Rich/Hillary’s St. Patrick’s Day Massacre The Short Version: Why is Hillary such a lying liar? To cover up her Iraq vote, of course! In his words: “Incredible as it seems, the professionals around Mrs. Clinton — though surely knowing her story was […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Gail Collins/McCain Forecloses Early The Short Version: Democrats need to relax. McCain is truly an idiot! In her words: “Fortunately for the quivering Democrats, McCain has also felt compelled to speak about the mortgage crisis.” Score: A (Awesome) Collins delivers a much needed […]


In which The Gay Recluse updates his informal but rather telling quantitative analysis of Modern Love, the weekly Style Section (of The Times) column in which openly gay writers almost never appear, and even less frequently describe a romantic relationship. This week’s piece: How We Got from Grief to Pancakes Subject: A woman finds a […]


In which The Gay Recluse provides a gay alternative to this week’s Modern Love offering in The Times. Those looking for our quantitative analysis should click here. How We Got From Grief to Pancakes By PATTY DANN and THE GAY RECLUSE Published: March 30, 2008 I WAS nervous about meeting my new partner’s parents, even […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Paul Krugman/Loans and Leadership The Short Version: When you look at policy proposals, McCain is a Nazi, Clinton is progressive and Obama (who annoys me just because) is less progressive. In his words: “McCain is selling the same old snake oil, claiming that […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Gail Collins/The Uncle Al Election The Short Version: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are politicians; ergo they act like politicians. In her words: “There isn’t a right or wrong to this argument — only strategy.” Score: A- (Aware) Although we’re not always in […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Maureen Dowd/Hillary or Nobody The Short Version: Hillary probably doesn’t want to be vice-president. In her words: “It’s hard to imagine that after spending her whole life playing second-fiddle to a superstar pol, Hillary wants to do it again. She’s been vice president.” […]


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 makes a clarification. Reader Gary Budlong (apparently new to The Gay Recluse) wrote the following comment in response to our most recent “mash-up” of the Modern Love column in The Times. dear pete, thank you. i’m 61, disabled, retired and gay. my partner has died 5 years ago. knew i […]


In which The Gay Recluse scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Frank Rich/The Republican Resurrection The Short Version: 1) Obama’s the man; 2) Clinton’s a monster, 3) McCain is loving it. In his words: “Instead of enhancing her own case for the presidency, she’s going to tear him down.” Score: B (Bit much) In […]


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 updates his informal but rather telling quantitative analysis of Modern Love, the weekly Style Section (of The Times) column in which openly gay writers almost never appear, and even less frequently describe a romantic relationship. This week’s piece: Mom, It’s Me, Your Son, Finally Subject: A man in mid-life crisis […]


In which The Gay Recluse provides a gay alternative to this week’s Modern Love offering in The Times. Mom, It’s Me, Your Gay Son, Finally By PETE MacDONALD and THE GAY RECLUSE Published: March 22, 2008 A YEAR after my partner Alan left me, and on the day before my estranged mother would have turned […]


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 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 scores selected opinion pieces in The Times. Maureen Dowd: Black, White & Gray The Short Version: Obama’s “race speech” rawked! In her words: “A little disenchantment with Obama could turn out to be a good thing. Too much idealism can blind a leader to reality as surely as too much […]