For a second, the Czar got excited there when he spottted the headline “Obama Dispatches Geithner, Lew to Negotiate on Tax Cuts.” Ah, they mean the President ordered the two on a special assignment. See, when the Czar dispatches somebody, … Continue reading →
First from our Royal Surgeon: “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers,” Princess Leia. Your GorTness: Great post on how if the ‘rich suffer’ then everyone suffers. The Gormos are well … Continue reading →
First, let’s be clear, I’m not advocating the demise of any person here but when I came across this tidbit on the news (courtesy of MTV): If you see headlines this Wednesday about Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian giving up … Continue reading →
Thanks, Katō! Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →The Volgi just let me know that actor Leslie Nielsen has passed away at the age of 84. For once, don’t you know, the Czar is truly shocked. His money was on Gene Hackman. And let it be said, our … Continue reading →
This debate continues to rage on, particularly in Washington, and sometimes in social circles where people of various political leanings mingle. Eventually, one will toss out a statement much like the title of this post, “Well, the rich can afford … Continue reading →
The Czar is inclined to agree with FotG Claire Berlinski that it does not matter whether the mainstream media acknowledges that Portland teenager Mohamed Osman Mohamud is a Muslim terrorist, because anybody more than two seconds into the story can … Continue reading →
…you’re supposed to put the kibosh on ideas like when the Mandarin says, “Let’s invest forty mil in a beachfront resort on Yŏnpyŏng-do.” ‘Club Yellow Sea,’ my 至聖 ass… Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. … Continue reading →
The Big Guy from Listen To Uncle Jay writes in: “The peasants are revolting!” —Sir Rodney, The Wizard of Id, Parker & Hart O Cruel and Vicious Czar, By the Grace of God, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, … Continue reading →
The Czar was alarmed this morning when he had great difficulty walking downstairs to breakfast at his dacha in Muscovy. Was something broken? A neurological problem? He mentioned in passing to the Царица with some hesitation, because she tends to … Continue reading →
From Irish: Flaithiúlacht, which means ruinous generosity, especially with someone else’s money. Whither this gem? Andrew Stuttaford at the Corner. Click through to see where he got it. How to pronounce that? Something like this. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent … Continue reading →
Checked your homeowner’s insurance lately? A lot of people pay off their mortgage with property taxes and homeowner’s insurance rolled into a lump sum (“escrow”). Each month, they either write a check or use an auto-deduction to pay that off. … Continue reading →
…from the Gormogons! (from left to right, the Mandarin, GorTechie, the Œcumenical Volgi (id est, 孔夫子, The Notorious ŒV), the Czar of Muscovy, and Ghettoputer Gormogon. Taking the photo, and not in the picture, is Sleestak (one of the few … Continue reading →
Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →The Volgi pointed us to this: it’s an amateur’s assessment of North Korean military options, and the Czar has gotta tell you, this thing is more detailed and well reasoned than some actual military SWOT documents he has seen. Our … Continue reading →
The Czar is finally getting around to tackling a backlog of mail. First up, BG writes in: I read this and all I could think was, “Arghhh! The stupid! It burns!!!!!!!!!” E.J. Dionne writes: So on the one hand, we … Continue reading →
Before your local newspaper screws this up, the Czar thought he should try to explain a curious news item going around the scientific circles. The story is that famous physicist Roger Penrose has described evidence that supports a controversial theory … Continue reading →
Crap, the Czar has a lot of email to respond to. He got some really good ones over the last two days, and he promises he will answer. But what about this North Korean thing? To catch you up, because … Continue reading →
At least that’s what ‘Puter’s liberal friends all claim. You see, every single tea partier is an inbred, knuckle-dragging trogolodyte within an inch of resorting to utter, catastrophic violence to return America to the dark ages before President Clinton. Yet … Continue reading →
You know Confucius takes issues of war, peace, strategy, diplomacy, and so forth seriously. Maybe a little too seriously. Defeats and bad press for the U.S. depress him mightily. Still. He can’t stop laughing at this. We’ve apparently be negotiating … Continue reading →
Ah, history. Where would we be without ya? The Czar thinks much of history. Today, he is thinking about a belief once shared by American politicians: the best presidents, the thought goes, neither seek the Presidency nor reject the call … Continue reading →
A gaggle of self-described patriotic millionaires are petitioning the government to raise taxes on all millionaires. Among these addle-pated high net worth individuals are well known hipster Moby and hippie Jerry Cohen (of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream fame). Moby … Continue reading →
On November 22, 1783, John Hanson, died in his home state of Maryland. Who is John Hanson? Well, three of your Gormogons grew up and nominally call Maryland their home state so I found this tidbit to be of interest. Maryland is hardly … Continue reading →
It was a bitterly cold Christmas Eve when General George Washington stepped out of the freezing rime to view the Delaware River. He stared nervously down a long road, concerned with thoughts of British scouts rumored to be near Yardley. … Continue reading →
Folks, don’t forget that you can explore our libraries down a little bit and to the left. You can see the books we talk about here, and even make periodic references to. If you especially like, you can buy the … Continue reading →
Notre Dame played Army at Yankee Stadium tonight. Good game. Did anybody spot this during rehearsal before the game? The Czar of MuscovyБожію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the … Continue reading →
Spielberg is a strange dude. He got bounced from the first Harry Potter movie because he could not find an English kid who could be a better Potter than Haley Joel Osment. Now, he can’t find an American who can … Continue reading →
Perhaps the Czar is being unkind or unfair. Unfortunately, though, that is exactly what Czars (real ones away) can get away with. So here we see Vice-President Biden figuring out exactly what went wrong for President Obama: the reason Obama … Continue reading →
Nice take on the woes in California and the future of that state as compared to others. Joel Kotkin, nice job. GorTGorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future … Continue reading →
We received this email in regards to airport screening: Here’s a solution to all of the controversy over the full-body scanners now being introduced at major airports. What is needed is a reinforced booth that you can step into that … Continue reading →
Tip to The Big Guy @ Uncle Jay. Very disheartening update: Borepatch just notified the Czar (through official channels) of an alleged photograph with this very picture on a TSA computer screen, in what appears to be full view of … Continue reading →
Unless you have been living on the moon (which is possible in our case), or have a job, or have basically anything better to do with your time—that should cover everybody—you have no doubt heard one of two stories: That … Continue reading →
Well, it seems my post is generating some discussion. First, let me be clear that the point was that I don’t have issues with the body scanners. The pat-downs and other debacles that the TSA have engaged in, I do. … Continue reading →
The Czar is not certain what the author’s actual point is, but it can’t be a good one. Wired’s David Axe is reporting on the remarkably interesting X-37B spaceplane, which the United States Air Force is currently testing. One of … Continue reading →
Not that this is shocking news to our regular followers, but sometimes the Gormogons disagree with each other. Airport Security is possibly a case in point. While I fully agree that the government runs little well and shouldn’t be “in … Continue reading →
Fire up the jet, boys. We’re going to Akron. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →And so the responses to the Czar’s airport security proposal keep coming in. EC is first with an appropriate attitude: Your Czarness: Yes! Right on! Moreover: Not that our government much cares, but where in the Constitution does the federal … Continue reading →
Your Mandarin has received yet another epistle regarding the posts Programming Note and Guns On TV from Gormogon operative and all around swell guy BG: Honored Mandarin – To believe that an irrational liberal (I know, redundant) will come to … Continue reading →
Thanks to Johnson’s Russia List, we confirm once again that the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind exceeding fine. RIA Novosti tells us that “Russian prosecutors drop charges against businesswoman who died in custody.”Vera Trifonova died in April … Continue reading →
Your Mandarin received this short communiqué from the royal surgeon regarding this post. What’s a liberal doing with a firearm? Me thought’m lefty pale-face hate’m firestick. Best,Dr. J Well Dr. J you have to remember that liberals/progressives operate under the … Continue reading →
Your Mandarin is a strong opponent of censorship and has always been of the opinion that if you don’t like what is on television you should either change the channel or turn it off. Apparently, Mr. Steven Cowan decided that … Continue reading →
By Oleg Volk. Via Boing Boing. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →The Gormogons are remiss in celebrating the life of Stephen J. Cannell who passed away on September 30, 2010. Mr. Cannell worked hard (in his terms he strived for “over-performance”) to advance in a rough industry that he was interested … Continue reading →
What a mess the TSA finds itself in. The Czar has a crazy proposal on how to solve the entire security issue at airports: eliminate the TSA. Simply and seriously, just announce that the TSA will no longer be provided … Continue reading →
BG provides a status update for a task that the Czar does not remember assigning, but then asks some questions on currency: Great and Terrible Gormogons— As you commanded, I have begun dumping sugar into the gas tanks of the … Continue reading →
According to a report released by UNESCO (the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization – really? That’s a combination?) today, emerging ecnonomies such as China, India, and South Korea have increased their R&D spending as a percentage of their GDP. … Continue reading →
John Boehner was addressing the new House members over the weekend, and decided to talk a little history. I mentioned Longworth earlier; another great Speaker was Henry Clay. Henry Clay did something noble: he left the Senate to join the … Continue reading →
And all this time the Czar has been saying that President Obama has completely failed to fulfill his promises on increasing the role of science in politics! Because we learn that Obama science advisor John Holdren will be appearing on … Continue reading →
The “public trial” of sorts begins today for Charlie Wrangle (D-NY) for his alleged ethics violations – 13 counts. He has now asked the House Ethics Committee to postpone the trial as he has run out of money after paying … Continue reading →
Where on earth do you go with this one? Let us see if we understand what happened. Harvey decides to sell his riding lawnmower. Two drunk guys, Troy and James, show up and offer to pay Harvey $250. Harvey asks … Continue reading →
Jonathan Last (FotG) positively nails the psychology of the President. The Czar admits it: he is insanely jealous of this piece. The Czar says this because he believes whole-heartedly in the premise: that President Obama is totally in love with … Continue reading →
Say it ain’t so, Joe Biden! In yet another example of (a) the failure of the Stimulus, (b) the failure of this administration creating those magical “green jobs” and (c) another example of the failure of this administration to deliver … Continue reading →
HuffPo decided to go after George W. Bush (he’s relevant politically now, right?) for plagiarism…of his own words! Dana Loesch over at Big Government does a nice job of taking it apart – check it out. The icing on the … Continue reading →
Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Dr. J posits thus: The more time goes on, the more San Francisco distinguishes itself as the last place on Earth that I would wish to live. The individuals they’ve elected to run the place are not fit to tie … Continue reading →
Two Washington Post bloggers write today about the disillusionment of Generation X. You really ought to read the entire thing. It’s enlightening. In the interest of full disclosure, and before commencing the following tirade, each of Your Gormogons is a … Continue reading →
Ramesh Ponnuru discusses the need to retain the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution. If you were unaware, some conservative groups want to eliminate this amendment that allows the public to elect their US Senators directly, and return things … Continue reading →
Ezra Klein is a hoot to read. He is (presumably) paid to write opinion pieces that never seem to reach a solid conclusion or get much beyond mere political musings. A great example is his piece “Six Things Obama Has … Continue reading →
It is imperative that European and American leaders show Russia that they will not tolerate this situation. At every bilateral or multilateral forum, European Union member states and the United States should ask specific questions about the progress of investigations … Continue reading →
Our beloved GorTechie says: A number of scientists have begun grumbling that the administration isn’t holding to its promise to be guided by science. Yup. Sore spot with the Czar. Ah, how the liberal scientists all blamed Bush for hating … Continue reading →
From the AP and Politico: The White House rewrote crucial sections of an Interior Department report to suggest an independent group of scientists and engineers supported a six-month ban on offshore oil drilling, the Interior inspector general says in a … Continue reading →
Fox News has this story about the Tata Motors Nano model and some new safety features that are being added to the exhaust and electrical system. Apparently there have been reports of about a dozen of the vehicles catching on … Continue reading →
‘Great Ghettoputer, Yes, it appears that Dr. J refers to himself in the third person. The Czar takes no responsibility for this, as the Czar sometimes refers to himself in the third person. Sometimes we refer to ourselves in the … Continue reading →
FotG Johnathan V. Last (you know him, right?) wants the Czar to know: I am, as always, a committed fan and follower of the Gormogons. Cool, or what? Sorry, girls, he’s taken! Mr. Last will be rewarded with a continent … Continue reading →
Brought to you by your government, highlighted by Royal Physician Dr. J.: Dear Puter, Dr. J would like to wish our nation’s veterans a happy Veteran’s Day. Ironically, our nation’s VA hospitals are running on a weekend schedule today in … Continue reading →
Loyal Gormogon operative D.T. has filed the following request through the castle’s 24-hour help desk line at 1-666-BOOTGUT: Oh Terrible Mandarin, who by the way is not named after those yummy oranges after all, I am the proud father of … Continue reading →
From Gormogon reader MS: Today is a special day indeed for those of us who have worn our nation’s uniform and were blessed enough to survive doing so. Many of our compatriots were not so blessed and today we honor … Continue reading →
Happy Veterans Day to the men and women of our Armed Forces. Thank you to those of you who have served our country, and especially to the families of those who died in service to us. If you see a … Continue reading →
Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Television station KFMB channel 8 is reporting on what they are calling a mysterious missile launch off the coast of southern California last night. As of right now no one in the military is taking credit for the launch. But … Continue reading →
Brilliant post, Dread and Awful Czar! Naturally. But there is more: I do have an observation. Uh oh. I worry that the Obama White House has begun reading the Gormogons. The Quantitative Easing began as the Republicans have won the … Continue reading →
Maybe Bradgelina and the rest of the Hollywood A-listers can help with this. Fromt the SFGate: With one in every eight workers unemployed and empty state coffers, California is borrowing billions of dollars from the federal government to pay unemployment … Continue reading →
Dealing another blow to the Big Environment crowd, the Chicago Climate Exchange will shutdown next month. Citing issues with this administration being able to put any regulation requiring carbon trading. “The bulk of the users have said to us that … Continue reading →
Gormogon operative and royal surgeon Dr. J posits the following question to your Mandarin: Inscrutable Mandarin, I’ve noticed that there are more reported UFO sightings in the news during Democratic administrations. Is there a reasonable explanation for this, or is … Continue reading →
The Czar has a proposal for the government. A good one. Helps the Feds and the States. Eliminates billions of dollars in a single shot. Perhaps our quadruple-IQ readership, or even the other mad geniuses who frolic within the Castle, … Continue reading →
Gormogon operative H writes in to correct a grammatical error in one of your Mandarin’s post: It’s “reins in”, unless your horse is royalty. Please don’t raze my homestead for daring to correct your most Gormogonessess. Rest assured operative H … Continue reading →
DT of the 1st (of Many) Myrmidion Brigade: Czaro di tutti Czari, In your latest missive you write that now we have to make drastic cuts or we’ll collapse waiting for results. You write as if a responsible government could … Continue reading →
Right about here, the Czar asked: “So what say you smart folks? Does JS have a solid idea here? Is the Czar wrong in his (ahem) assessment of the situation? Let us know.” And indeed, JTS writes in! Don’t confuse … Continue reading →
Janet Daley at The Telegraph has an outstanding essay on the Western world’s acknowledgment that socialist government programs and democracy do not mix: [T]here is now a broad understanding that the social democratic project itself is unsustainable: that it has … Continue reading →
Anytime one compares two presidents with each other, the result can only go so far before it becomes unfair to both presidents. We have done it here, with provisions, when we compared Obama to Jackson, Obama to Carter, and even … Continue reading →
And why some people don’t get it. Liberalism in its present degenerate form is reactionary—a gesture of irritation at the backward quality of ordinary American life, at its culture, its food and dress and amusements and politics, and especially at … Continue reading →
CNN says “GOP senator: Consider neutering Iran’s ‘ability to wage war.’” The Czar could say “Democratic Senators: Recommend blatantly ineffective sanctions against Iran in hopes they just give up on a decades-old quest to achieve nuclear weapons, especially now that … Continue reading →
Well, we must have somehow already reached the bottom of the barrel when it comes to political analysis of the recent election. The Czar is unimpressed with this non-shocker story from The Weekly Standard: “GOP Won Greater Percentage of Senate … Continue reading →
Is no laughing matter. Except when it is. Yesterday, ‘Puter mentioned West Virginia in a post on New York’s Medicaid programs. ‘Puter was thinking for a smallish state population wise, West Virginia’s really not too bad off. Well, ‘Puter was … Continue reading →
BG demands more information on quantitative easing, or so help him, he will stop attaching small orbital thrusters to the billions of ice chunks that compose Saturn’s rings. (By the way, not all of those chunks are ice. You will … Continue reading →
Mail, mail, mail. First, JS writes in to ask: I have a question for you—has anyone ever entertained the idea of tax breaks for people with kids in private schools? I know lots of people hate vouchers, but what about … Continue reading →
Usually when you hear a Latinate + Anglo-French compound noun, you can bet you are hearing a governmental euphemism: like collateral damage, affirmative action, or state capitalism. You can bet the guideline also applies to quantitative easing. All right, what … Continue reading →
If by Empire State one means “state dedicated to bankrupting productive citizens to benefit an increasingly greedy sector of public employees and welfare recipients.” ‘Puter caught this item today: New York’s budget is in a $315 million hole that must … Continue reading →
Dread and Awful Czar, While we’re on the subject of foolish questions… If cartoon characters have 8 digits (3 fingers and a thumb on each hand), why do they use a decimal, rather than an octal numeric system? Best,Dr. J. … Continue reading →
That the Czar believes Senator Harry Reid to be as senile as he is vicious shall come as no surprise to our highly educated readers. NRO Online has the following quote from the Senate Narrow Majority Leader that shows how … Continue reading →
Dread and Awful Czar, If you can have the first, second, or third of something, what happens if you have less than the first? This is bugging me to no end. Indeed, verily, you can have the zeroth of something. … Continue reading →
The ever timely Uncle Jay writes in concerning ‘Puter’s early morning foray into French literature: Most highly regarded ‘Puter-May your core ram cache always stay refreshed!) In regard to the concept of Dans ce pays-ci, il est bon de tuer … Continue reading →
Over at the Corner, Douglas Holtz-Eakin says when we’re done celebrating, it’ll be time to wake up and realize nothing has been guaranteed: The reality is that Republicans will not set the agenda. The Tea Party will not set the … Continue reading →
If you are tempted to read the election results as anything other than a nationwide cry for smaller government that spends less, you would be a fool. The mood of the electorate is best summed up thus: Dans ce pays-ci, … Continue reading →
Defense Secretary Bob Gates will be told in a meeting today that development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be further delayed, on top of the 13-month slippage that was disclosed in March. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions … Continue reading →
It’s time for a little pre-election results prognostication from Your Gormogons. ‘Puter put the question to the Assembled Multitude at the Leaping Peacock’s Happy Hour. What will be the net Republican gain in the House and Senate? ‘Puter: 64 House, … Continue reading →
JL, an operative of ours presently relocating the Hudson Bay an inch at a time (didn’t notice, didja?) writes in: Today at the hardware store I stood in line beside a young airman, about 20 I presume, he had just … Continue reading →
On this election day we stand at the voting booth faced two choices – a huge federal government that spends money it does not have and tells us how to live while its leaders do the opposite, or a smaller … Continue reading →
’Puter’s quite the ladies’ man, even if he usually drags them off like a robot in a ’50s B-movie. Still, he has feelings, and doubtless he’s crushed to learn that his prom date* was two-timing him with Matt Labash. So … Continue reading →
