George Carlin

Reflections on George Carlin, in the era of Donald Trump

Before capitulating to misanthropy, George Carlin delighted many of us by eviscerating the meritocracy’s treacherous rhetoric. Towards the end of his life, he tragically appeared to love words more than humanity. One of Carlin’s best riffs explored the linguistic evolution of “shell shock,” a World War I phrase vividly describing the psychological damage of combat.…

Make the pie higher: nostalgia for W in a Trump era

Recent references to Donald Trump’s bizarre ramblings in interview transcripts (Trump’s NYT transcript: Read it, and weep for our country) make one yearn for a kinder, gentler time. In 2001, Richard Thompson, a cartoonist for the Washington Post, published “Make the Pie Higher.” It is a wonderful mashup of actual quotes from George W. Bush.…

person of the year

Time’s edited transcript of Trump’s Person-of-the-Year interview: What’s missing?

What did Donald Trump really say during his Person-of-the-Year interview with Time magazine? We will never know, because Time has published only edited excerpts of that interview. At the end of the “transcript,” Time includes this disclaimer: “This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.” I strongly suspect that the disclaimer is an understatement.…

How Trump figured out “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”

Ever since Thomas Frank’s “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” book came out in April, 2007, Democrats have been flummoxed about why so many Americans do not vote their economic interests. Frank asserts that Republicans have successfully convinced many Americans to value “social issues” more importantly than economic ones. That means that “God and guns” have…