First Looks category archive

I need a break from the firehouse of foolishness.

The email link on the sidebar seems to be malfunctioning. I’ll get to it this week. (I’m not in a hurry because it’s rarely used and, when it is used, it’s normally spam or, worse, SEO “consultants,” the carrion crows of the inter webs. As I’ve mentioned before, this is a hobby and a learning experience, and I shall not allow it to discombobulate me.) In the interim, if you must needs tell me something, just comment on this post.

VSO.

They will be performing my favorite bit of music, more favorite than anything by the Airplane or Cannonball Addelery or Benny Goodman or even Eydie Gorme (I admit it. I’ve had a crush on Eydie Gorme since I was a teen): Rimsky-korsakov’s marvelous Scheherazade. It’s the only classical piece I enjoy more than anything by Beethoven.

Later:

They nailed it.

The Inky reports that Donald Trump’s tariffs, if enacted, are likely to destroy the last U. S. company making kegs and making them with American steel to boot. A nugget:

“Tariffs will inadvertently drive the price of American steel higher,” said Czachor. “Within a year, we might have to raise our prices so our kegs cost 30 percent more than an import. That puts the whole business in jeopardy.”

This will be a pivotal year for American Keg, which Czachor said is losing between $50,000 and $100,000 every month.

But if the price of imported steel is inflated with a defacto tax, shouldn’t that make American-made products more competitive?

No. And the reason is counterintuitive, said Czachor. He believes the cost of American steel will rise while “American businesses will suffer,” he said.

“If there were no tariffs, that would keep the domestic steel prices lower,” Czachor said. “We understand the administration is trying to solve a problem, but it is not holistically getting addressed.”

Off to drink liberally.

Creep frolics.

When fellowship is needed, join us . . . .

When: Thursday, March 8, 6 p.

Where:
Croc’s 19 Street Bistro
620 19th Street (Map)

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Jay Bookman calls BS on Georgia Republicans and their attempt to punish Delta Airlines by taking away an (unneeded–Delta is quite profitable) tax break. A snippet (emphasis in the original):

(Georgia Lt. Gov.–ed.) Cagle also writes:

“Being a conservative in America today means being ridiculed and belittled by many elements of the news media, Hollywood, and – increasingly – corporations who feel the need to take positions on social issues.”

Cry me a river, snowflake.

VSO.

Off to drink liberally.

PoliticalProf.

Southern Beale cuts to the bone on Donald Trump’s desire to play with tanks to have a USSR-style military parade. A snippet:

This parade isn’t about honoring the military, it’s about honoring Trump. Get real.

Follow the link for the rest.

Peter Cooper:

A true history of human events would show that a far larger proportion of our acts are the result of sudden impulse and accident than of that reason of which we so much boast.

When fellowship is needed, join us . . . .

When: Thursday, February 8, 6 p.

Where:
Croc’s 19 Street Bistro
620 19th Street (Map)

More here.

Will Bunch watched the State of Union Address so I didn’t have to (actually, I never those things when I can watch reruns of the Jack Benny show). He points out that Donald Trump promised all those things he’s promised before, just like the guy on the phone who promised me he was calling from Microsoft:

This, he called this “a New American Moment” — but it sounded like an old American moment. In his speech to Congress in 2017, after all, Trump also vowed to work for an immigration deal, saying “I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades.” Two paragraphs later in that 2017 speech, he declared solemnly that “I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States.”

To quote the late great John Lennon: We’d all love to see the plan.

Follow the link for the rest.