ROGER SIMON COLUMN
SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
Simon Says:
I see nothing wrong with iceberg lettuce.
Su do ku is the opiate of the ruling class.
Does anybody remember when Arbor Day is? And how come we don't get the day off? Does management hate trees?
Gleaned from being forced to listen to other people's cell phone calls: People say "good-bye" about 10 times before they actually end the call.
The U.S. Constitution lists no qualifications for Supreme Court justice. It doesn't even say you have to be a lawyer. Are you interested? There is an opening for an associate justice and it pays $199,200 a year. There is little chance for advancement, however.
"If it makes sense for the citizen out there to curtail nonessential travel, it darn sure makes sense for federal employees," President Bush said this week. And just in case you were wondering: The fuel cost of Air Force One is a reported $6,029 per hour.
And while we are on the subject of wretched excess, Michael Brown, who resigned as head of FEMA, is still on salary at a reported $145,600 per year. That is not a lot of money for someone running a major agency. It is a lot of money for a guy without qualifications who doesn't know how to run a major agency, however.
Maybe Brown and Bernard Kerik could start a business together and call it Losers, Inc.
And do you get the feeling Brown was thrown from the sled in order to keep the wolves from nipping at the heels of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff?
Notice to television: I think we may be nearing the saturation point (no pun intended) with Gulf Coast disaster video. Can't we find something else to feel miserable about?
Go ahead and clip a playing card to the spokes of your bicycle wheel. It makes a cool sound and you know you want to.
I thought the recent PBS documentary "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan" by Martin Scorsese was excellent. I had no idea that the leading "protest" singer of his generation had very little interest in actual protest.
Another thing I learned: We should all age as well as Joan Baez has aged.
When is the last time you actually looked up something in a phone book? But they keep dropping them off year after year. Couldn't those people who use the Internet instead of phone books opt out of getting them and save a few trees from destruction?
Let's settle this once and for all: sushi is finger food.
Things to keep in mind: A submarine is called a "boat" unless it is a nuclear submarine in which case it is called a "ship."
Al Qaeda now has its own video newscast during which the anchor wears a ski mask. Remember when Paddy Chayefsky's "Network" was considered outrageous?
Paperback Pick of the Month: "Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March" by Adam Zamoyski. Fascinating and very well written. But you better read it before winter sets in.
Posted by rsimon at September 28, 2005 11:53 AM