Sigh. Look, nobody likes these stories, but dollars to donuts this decision has nothing to do with Trump, terrorism, religion, national security, or anything else that makes headlines. Very likely, the visa officers took one look at the group, decided they were not idiots, and therefore refused the visas, because you…

If we’re being REALLY fair, there’s only ever been one career diplomat who served as appointed Secretary of State (Lawrence Eagleburger, who had the job for all of a month in the lame-duck portion of the GHW Bush admin). Clinton likely wouldn’t have selected one, either, though there was a department legend on her…

I restate my motion that we resolve the ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State/Daesh whatdowecallem game by naming this outfit “Assholes Amalgamated.” Because really, it’s hard to find any movement in history as committed to nothing but evil for evil’s sake. They always give some excuse, sure, but really there’s no evidence of any…

Also, the term “natural-born citizen” is really poorly defined in law. The Immigration and Nationality Act and the certificates issued overseas to confirm citizenship (Consular Recprds of Birth Abroad) both use the language “acquired citizenship at birth.” John McCain was physically born in Panama and Congress had to…

And probably on United, no less!

I mean, a lighter is butane in a can with a conveniently-placed sparking apparatus, so it would be bad to have on a plane (where firefighting is super difficult).

I mean, you’ve seen Cincinnati’s topography; where could you even put an airport on the OH side of the river?

Oranges and fennel are a super traditional combination, but... yeah, I’m not sure of the effect of substituting clementines and have no idea why one would bother.

Neither one had any status with the airline. Holding a cobranded credit card is worth the proverbial bucket of warm spit and one checked bag each. They bought upgrades at check-in, probably for about $45 each on a flight of that distance. The flight was then downgauged from a CRJ-900 (12 first-class seats) to a…

McMaster, being on active duty, did not have the option of declining an order from the president and continuing in his previous role, though. He could put in his papers earlier than he meant to, or he could take a big bite of that... um, bullet. Doesn’t really give us any indication of whether he thought he could…

Yeah, um, the far left is exactly as bad as the far right in every meaningful respect.

Hot take: healthcare ISN’T a basic human right, because no rivalrous good or service ever can be.

I will pour one of my complimentary glasses of champagne out for my homies in coach and then sheepishly apologize to the flight attendants.

I’m lower-upper-middle-class, I guess—hardly wealthy—but biz/first travel is pretty much what I have in lieu of a mortgage, car, or kids. Would not trade. I can’t go back, man. I just... can’t.

Where stand those of us never got laid in high school and judged the whole affair to be a no-contest?

Well, one can know them by their fruits. The Abrahamic religions, viewed uncharitably, include ritual cannibalism, speaking gibberish, arbitrary dietary restrictions, polygamy, and full-body depilation among their practices.

Scientology is super extremely not for me, but a quip (I forget whose) comes to mind on the difference between whackadoodle cults and mainstream religions: “In a cult, there’s one guy at the top who knows it’s all bullshit. In a religion, that guy is dead.”

Agreed. No free passes for raping someone who turned out to be exceptionally well-adjusted despite it all. That’s dumb luck, not special merit on Polanski’s part.

Kissinger’s reputation is based on the fact that a) he’s really smart and b) was very effective at getting what he wanted, which is the primary metric of diplomatic talent. The problem was that as a strategist (and a human being), “what Kissinger wants” and “what’s good for the U.S. and humanity” were frequently,…

The person asking the questions does not get to hold the baby, alas. Unless the baby can fit through a bank-window slot, in which case there would be other questions.