An Inaugural Address for Herman Cain An Inaugural Address for Herman Cain
In April, we’ll all be in clover— All spending bucks we’ve got left over, With 9-9-9. To working folks we’ll bring enjoyment, ’Cause we’ll have nearly full employment, With 9-9-9. Our air will be pristine and clear, And terrorists will disappear, With 9-9-9. And scientists will find the answer That gives the world a cure for cancer, With 9-9-9. We’ll all achieve what we endeavor, And all of us will live forever, With 9-9-9. A country that now seems depressed and limp’ll Be great again if we just keep things simple.
Oct 19, 2011 / Column / Calvin Trillin
In the Clear: On Scientology In the Clear: On Scientology
The body of the church of Scientology is not well. Will its main legacy be its contribution to US tax law?
Oct 18, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Mark Oppenheimer
The Edge of Comprehension: On Steven Millhauser The Edge of Comprehension: On Steven Millhauser
With We Others, Steven Millhauser remains the master of the inevitable ending in American fiction.
Oct 18, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Aaron Thier
The Far Right Contemplates the Republican Front-Runner The Far Right Contemplates the Republican Front-Runner
It seems that now we’re stuck with Mitt. Reciting right-wing holy writ, He still sounds moderate, a bit. Although it’s nothing he’ll admit, A healthcare plan’s his biggest hit. (The thought of that gives us a fit.) And born-agains, from where they sit, Still state their firm belief, to wit: As Christians, Mormons aren’t legit. We’ve said for months, “This man’s not it.” We wish that Palin hadn’t split. We wish that Perry weren’t a nit (His pilot light is not quite lit). Because, it seems, we’re stuck with Mitt.
Oct 12, 2011 / Column / Calvin Trillin
Gandhi and South Africa Gandhi and South Africa
Why was Joseph Lelyveld’s history of Gandhi’s years in South Africa attacked by India’s Hindu right?
Oct 12, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Martha C. Nussbaum
Innocents Lost: On Postwar Orphans Innocents Lost: On Postwar Orphans
Tara Zahra explains why orphaned children held a special grip on Europe’s postwar imagination.
Oct 12, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Holly Case
CEO CEO
Hewlett-Packard CEO, fired after disastrous eleven-month reign, gets $13 million in termination benefits. —news reports One job’s a job I never would forgo. That job, of course, is being CEO. According to the customs now prevailing, It pays a lot—and pays you more for failing. It must be nice to have a job wherein You cannot lose, for if you lose you win.
Oct 5, 2011 / Column / Calvin Trillin
The Wrong Moral Revolution: On Michael Barnett The Wrong Moral Revolution: On Michael Barnett
To see humanitarianism everywhere is not to see it at all.
Oct 5, 2011 / Books & the Arts / David Rieff
Getting to Denmark: On Francis Fukuyama Getting to Denmark: On Francis Fukuyama
The Origins of Political Order, a work of total world history, pits the old Fukuyama against the new.
Oct 5, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Thomas Meaney
The Search The Search
The far right looked for someone who’d befit The ticket—that is, someone not named Mitt But someone who could strongly lead the nation Without the faintest whiff of moderation. Chris Christie thought about it, then said nyet, And Bachmann was the quickest flopper yet. It looked like Perry was the right’s white hope, But now they’re saying Perry’s just a dope. So who will they convince now to get in? The time is short. Their bench is looking thin.
Sep 28, 2011 / Column / Calvin Trillin