Author Archives: Greg Hlatky

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Dan Simpson writes that embattled Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switch parties. James Taranto does his usual skillful job eviscerating Simpson’s arguments, but this was striking to me: The first time I met Mr. Specter was in 1974 … Continue reading →

Harry Kalas, Voice of the Phillies since 1971, is dead at 73. He collapsed in the broadcast booth before today’s game against the Nationals. What better place to go than at the ballpark? And news has just come through that … Continue reading →

Mark Kleiman is unhappy that Norm Coleman persists in his election bid: If I were a Minnesotan, I think I’d be pretty angry about the way that Norm Coleman and his friends in the national Republican Party have deprived the … Continue reading →

We ourselves had a slightly paler version of Stump’s saga. Our Miss Lacey, after a distinguished specials career, was felled by a near-fatal case of pyometria in September, 2005. She was only just saved by our own perceptiveness (she didn’t … Continue reading →

Stump (Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee), a Sussex Spaniel handled by Scott Sommer, won the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club dog show under judge Sari Brewster Tietjen. At 10 years old, Stump became the oldest dog ever to win Westminster, … Continue reading →

  1) Spend lots of money 2) Er… 3) That’s it.

Where else but in the New York Times? President Obama is letting bipartisanship stand in the way of what’s best for America. We need a still-larger stimulus package, not one pared down to obtain the votes of a recalcitrant Republican … Continue reading →

The political and economic autopsy of a nation. There’s this: Very few… are prepared to enter politics… This is not due to the lack of public spirit, but to the personal abuse to which candidates are subjected and to the … Continue reading →

Looks like the new hope-n-changey environment has deflated one artistic balloon: No theatrical event of 2008 captured the political mood of the country quite like the Public Theater’s hit revival of the Vietnam-era rock musical “Hair” in Central Park last … Continue reading →

Headline: “Biden to Attend Munich Security Conference”

Headline: “Biden Apologizes Over Roberts Joke”

This article in Sunday’s Washington Post illustrates just about every cliché among the Democrats Abroad crowd, from “I-have-to-pretend-I’m-Canadian” to “my-European-friends-ask-me-about” to getting hugged on the street by perfect strangers suddenly keen on America now that we’ve elected the kind of … Continue reading →

Barack Obama has been inaugurated at the 44th President of these United States. The last band in the parade has passed, the last dance spun. Workers are now cleaning up the mountains of trash (no doubt Green and eco-friendly) left … Continue reading →

No, we’re not really showing anyone right now. My lovely bride is shivering in Ohio and any showing would be limited to nearby events, of which there won’t be any until Indianapolis next month. On Saturday, I thought I’d go … Continue reading →

Samuel Barber’s haunting chamber opera A Hand of Bridge (libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti), performed by the Opera Theater of the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.