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Articleman is doing the things an article can. What's he like? It's not important. But Articleman is a photographer, a Democrat, a lawyer, a cancer survivor, a guest Wednesdays at 8:05 am Pacific talking current events on www.krxa540.com, famously intolerant of anger for its own sake, a co-founder of dagblog, and like Bob Dole, just a man.

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The Dr. Houseman Column: Mitt Romney's Like the Wind

by Articleman 2/4/2012 - 6:41 pm   |

Dirty Dancing teaches us a lot.  Nobody puts Baby in a corner.  There is joy in the upstate New York summer camp experience.  Sometimes it is possible to hear the pop music of the distant future if you just break into dance during an emotionally charged moment in your upbringing.  Stuff like that.  But the deepest wisdom in this Kahlil Gibran-like wellspring of profundity came from Baby Houseman's dad, Dr. Houseman, when he apologized to Patrick Swayze's Johnny, who he had cruelly misjudged.  Taking back his incorrect assessment of rough-hewn Johnny's pure motives toward Baby, Dr. Houseman set a shining example for us all by saying, "When I'm roo-wawng, I say I'm roo-wawng." [Read more]

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Newt/RINO, or, The Physics of Tea

by Articleman 2/1/2012 - 12:22 am   |

One of my favorite Onion headlines is South Postpones Rising Again For Yet Another Year.  As Homer Simpson once said, it's funny because it's true.  And there is a parallel truth in the failure of the Tea Party to control a party in which it seems to command a majority.  How does Mitt Romney, of Romneycare and abortion rights, win a Florida primary?  Because the Tea was strained into two cups -- a Newt, and a Rick.  With Establishment carpet bombs a-bombin', and Newt lacking any defenses against Air Romney, that was just enough.  The RINO beat the Newt.  [Read more]

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Articleman's Twelve: The Mostly Romney Edition

by Articleman 1/29/2012 - 8:17 pm   |

12. I need to get working on that Newt's-going-to-lose mea culpa (a/k/a The Dr. Houseman Column).  Before doing so, will have to write column explaining that Newt is still helping to re-elect Barack Obama.  It will rest on the recent WaPo polling showing that independents have now flipped from leaning Romney over Obama to leaning for Obama over Romney now that Romney is getting defined.  This, as much as the slow reduction in unemployment, is why Obama is just about even on approve/disapprove, which is bad news for Romney. [Read more]

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Gingrich's Steep Ascent Shows Tea Time Has Arrived

by Articleman 1/23/2012 - 12:07 am   |

I told you so.  Back in November, I posited that the primary lens through which one should view this Republican primary cycle was not as a contest among positive options, but as a contest among Romney and whoever was the most compelling alternative to Romney.  (You know, the AntiRomney.)  After Romney convincingly won his home state, I argued again in this space that if Gingrich remained in the teens nationally (which he did at all times), he would win South Carolina.  And now with Gingrich's resurgence through two debates and a decisive triumph in South Carolina, he is well poised to win Florida, and with it, assume the mantle of the front runner in the GOP race.  All of which shows that the Tea Party has taken control of the Republican Party, and also, that Barack Obama is likely to be re-elected nine months or so hence.  Why?  Three reasons: [Read more]

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Bulls Well-Positioned To Win It All in Weird Lockout Season

by Articleman 1/14/2012 - 4:52 pm   |

Three weeks into this weird, compacted four month NBA season, the experts who rated the Chicago Bulls less likely than the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, and even the Los Angeles Lakers to win the championship look pretty dumb.  The Bulls are 12-2 (and an eye-popping 7-2 on the road), and are easily the class of the league to this point.  Here's why the Bulls look like they are set to repeat as the best regular-season team, and have the best chance to win the 2012 NBA championship. [Read more]

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The Meaning of Santmentum: Will the GOP Field Be Rick-Rolled? Here's How.

by Articleman 1/4/2012 - 12:35 am   |

The asininity of the current Republican nomination fight requires recourse to literature for us to find a path through it toward the winner.  I speak of that fictive champion of deductive reasoning, Sherlock Holmes, who memorably stated:   "When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."  We like truth at dagblog.  So let us apply Holmesian thinking to the mess Santorum's shocking switch -- from bottom of the pile to topping the entire field -- has made in Iowa.  Let us eliminate some impossibilities. [Read more]

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What Is Actually Wrong With the NDAA

by Articleman 1/2/2012 - 1:02 am   |

During the last month, there has been a lot said, written, and assumed about the National Defense Authorization Act that is either untrue or overstated.  There are several reasons for this.  One is that it's a law, and laws can be complex and ambiguous.  Another is that President Obama signed it, which means it triggers the automatic Obama Bad-Obama Good discussion.  The discussion about it to me largely misses the point, focusing too much on questions of citizenship, for example, and too much on scoring points for and against Obama. This blog presents my critique of the NDAA, which differs substantially from others you have likely read. [Read more]

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Articleman's 2011 in 21 Blogs

by Articleman 12/30/2011 - 8:15 pm   |

What a weird year.  I set out to write the blogging year through recaps of ten blogs that strung together what the year was to me (at least the year as concerns subjects about which I write), with further commentary on how those issues have played out and where they are.  So far so good, though it took way too long to write.  Unfortunately, like 2011 itself, my subject selection is all over the place.  As organizational fiat, I sorted my blogs and treatment of the year roughly by subject or blog-type:  Tucson Shooting (1); Politics (2-5); Law (6-8); 9/11 Forevermore (9-11); First Person Stuff (12-16); Fun (17-20); and Sports (21).  This was my blogging year that was. Thanks to all of you for all the great comment threads and for sharing it with us at dag. [Read more]

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Visiting the 9/11 Memorial

by Articleman 12/21/2011 - 1:31 am   |

Recently, I was in New York for business and had a bit of time to spare.  I am never in New York City and had just a bit of time to see sites.  After dashing through MoMA, I took a cab to the 9/11 Memorial and was able to visit the site just as the day was reaching dusk in lower Manhattan.  If you can, I recommend visiting. [Read more]

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"Steve Jobs, By Walter Isaacson," By Steve Jobs

by Articleman 12/18/2011 - 5:18 pm   |

In Robert Redford's profound Quiz Show, a parable about America in the form of the story of fixing the game show Twenty One, Scorsese in a rare acting turn portraying Geritol executive Martin Rittenhome explains that game show's appeal:  "You see, the audience didn't tune in to watch some amazing display of intellectual ability.  They just wanted to watch the money."   That quote sums up most of the commercial appeal of Walter Isaacson's best-selling biography of corporate titan Steve Jobs:  Americans are obsessed with billionaires.  From the insipid The Social Network to last week's 60 Minutes profiling Warren Buffett's kid (He's not getting most of the billions!  Can you believe it?) to Trump, to Bloomberg, we can't stop watching the money.  The book reflects many of the flaws of our culture, and of celebrity journalism.  While playing to wonderful reviews, it is ok, but could have been much more. [Read more]

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