Well, it looks like we don’t have Matt Gaetz to kick around any more. Next up for AG is Florida’s Pam Bondi. I remember her from a set-to she had with Anderson Cooper a few years ago — she set off his bullshit detector and he didn’t hold back. But first, let’s have a look at her — we understand a president’s cabinet appointments are expected to act as cheerleaders for the administration — but in this case Trump picked an actual cheerleader.
Give me a T! Give me an R!
The Anderson Cooper flap occurred after the terrible killings in the gay nightclub in Orlando. With public sympathy soaring for the gay community, Bondi came out as their legal champion. Cooper started getting calls from gays in Florida pointing out that she was full of shit — she had done nothing but actively oppose gay rights from Day One. So he called her blatant hypocrisy out on live TV on CNN. Here’s how one report on it went:
Bondi, of course, is an utterly unprincipled toady who has not hesitated to parrot Trump’s nonsense about the 2020 election and immigrants.
OLIVIA RODRIGO was the centipede of the puzzle yesterday — she ran right down the middle with her full name, boringly clued with “youngest artist blah blah blah something.” She is half-deaf in one ear? I think that means she has no hearing in that ear or it’s very weak. Certainly hasn’t held her back. She’s 21, an only child, born in California to a school teacher mom and family therapist dad. She identifies as a Filipina-American. Taylor Swift’s songs inspired her to begin songwriting. (Tay is 13 years her senior.) Wow — she’s pretty too. Trump should appoint her Sec’y of the Treasury or something.
At 54D, the clue was “Part of OOO.” I had no idea why the answer turned out to be TAC. Do you? (Think TIC-TAC-TOE.)
Do you know what “bêtise” is? Its origin is French, but it’s an English word that means foolishness. The answer for the puzzle was IDIOCY.
Did you know “Google’s former motto” was DON’T BE EVIL? I had no idea. I didn’t even know it had a motto. It’s current motto is “Do the right thing.” Does every corporation have a motto? I looked up a few. IBM’s is “Think.” Mott’s motto is referred to as a slogan. Is that different from a motto? Anyway, it’s a little clunky: “Feel Seen — Real Apples Make Real Good Applesauce.” (Needs work, amirite?)
“Where small plates are served?” was a cute clue for KID’S TABLE.
At 4D, the clue was “[Hey! The light turned green!]. Answer: TOOT TOOT.
And this one had me flummoxed: “Makeup brand known for its risqué product names.” NARS. (Some in Crossworld would call that a WOE, for “What on Earth?”) Its product names include: Orgasm, Adults Only, Take Me Home, Start Me Up, and No Shame.
I’ve started marketing some cosmetics too. Mine are called: Help Me Up, Take Me To The ER, Seniors Only, and No Prostate.
It is amazing what these cosmetics can do. Here’s what this woman, above, looked like when she started.
I am certain I finished today’s puzzle in my fastest time ever for a Saturday. It’s not that I’m getting smarter, believe me. It was just way too easy for a Saturday. They generally take me 30 to 40 minutes and today was under 15. When I entered the tournament last summer I asked them what category I should apply for: local or express. I told them I am routinely able to finish the Saturday puzzle. They said express is for people who can finish the Saturday puzzle in around ten minutes. Yikes.
At 46A today, the clue was “Easily stacked pet food,” and the answer was TUNA CANS. Rex commented: “Pet food,” you say? I’ve been eating “pet food” all these years?
I can’t recall a puzzle that had a sweeter opening than today’s. At 1A the clue was “In need of a trim, say,” and the answer was SCRUFFY, and right below it was “Romance language?” for I LOVE YOU. Awwwww. We love you too!
16A was “Something that may be passed down in a family.” I had no idea. It took me almost all of the crosses to see RECIPE. Of course! Good clue.
Hey Taylor! Guess who made it into the grid today? “One of football’s Kelce brothers.” It’s Travis’s brother JASON! Whodathunkit? Jason’s 37 and he and wife Kylie are expecting baby #4.
And speaking of Ms. Swift, she graces the cover of tomorrow’s NYT Book Review. It’s for a review of a book about her by Rob Sheffield called “Heartbreak Is The National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music.” Not to dis the Times, but the photo isn’t nearly as nice as the shots of TS our Phil sends in to us. (Love you, Philly!)
A sad note, for our Brandeis friends. Barney Schwalberg passed away last Sunday night. He was an Economics professor who had a great influence on me. We had been in regular touch via email from around 2013 to 2018. When I received a teaching award from Hunter in 2013, I mentioned him in my speech, so I reached out to him to share my good news. I never took him down from the pedestal I placed him on years ago, so it was quite a thrill when we started a regular correspondence. Mr. Schwalberg and Mr. Liveson became Barney and Avi. He had retired by then and advised me: “Don’t retire!” When it fit the topic, I’d share one of my ridiculous jokes with him and he told me once he repeated them at dinner to his friends at his senior living facility. You can imagine how that made me feel.
His health took a downturn and his notes stopped coming. I reached out several times, even trying through Brandeis or his daughter. It was she who passed the news on to me and several others via an email yesterday. But I hadn’t heard from him since 2018.
It’s funny that I’m writing this after that short item on Taylor Swift. When Barney and I reconnected he reminded me of a moment in one of his classes when he used Sophia Loren in an example, as a beautiful woman. But he called her “Sophie Loren” and a student yelled out “Sophie?” Schwalberg shot right back — “Well, to her friends.” He was proud of that. I noted that each generation has its own icons. I said if I had to pick a beautiful woman to use in an example in my class, I wouldn’t be able to use Sophia Loren. I would probably use Taylor Swift. And he wrote back: “Who’s Taylor Swift?”
The note from his daughter included links to several obituaries but I have been too emotionally afraid to look at them. I guess I’ll force myself to after a while. She mentioned that a memorial service will be arranged at some point and she’ll send the details.
In his honor, I am posting this poem by Ted Kooser from Winter Morning Walks.
I saw the season’s first bluebird
this morning one month ahead
of its scheduled arrival. Lucky I am
to go off to my cancer appointment
having been given a bluebird, and,
for a lifetime, having been given
this world.
The Wellington Files 