The First Estate.


Ever beholden to their wealthy masters, the House GOP try once again to permanently eliminate the estate tax. Thankfully, this probably won’t pass the Senate, but you’d think someone on the Republican side of the House would remember the days of true conservatism and start thinking about balancing the budget, rather than granting further handouts to the filthy rich. A long shot, I know, particularly when you take a gander at the GOP economic team these days. (Ah, fun with Photoshop.)

Means of Descent.

Grad students and history lovers take note: Plight of the Reluctant has devised the altogether fiendish Robert Caro drinking game. “Drink once if Caro describes Lyndon Johnson’s stride…Drink once if LBJ’s weight or face is mentioned,” etc., etc. Thank goodness I was unaware of this amusement while slogging through The Power Broker.

Elvish Hegemon and the Subaltern Orc.

And now the terrible Orcs invade Balin’s tomb. Let’s be clear about a few things here. The Orcs are fighting a war of self-defense against the invading Fellowship. They basically busted in on the Orcs’ place here…One would think that if the Orcs were as bad as the corrupt Man-Elf coalition says, they would be a lot better at fighting. Via a friend of mine in the department, it’s the lost Fellowship of the Ring commentary track by Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. Touche.