The ceaseless West Wing backbiting that captures headlines has belied the reality of working there, which is that aides form tight cliques and burrow into those friendships to endure the chaos of the work environment.
by Maggie Haberman for the NYT
The Founding Fathers knew that when America grew great
that cliques would form the backbone of Democracy's mandate.
They wrote the Constitution so that cabals could supervise
policy decisions and detect all foreign spies.
The clannishness of West Wing clerks, who dress up in tight slacks,
is really inspirational -- and proof against attacks.
If anything will save our land from ruin and infamy,
it's got to be those guys and gals who form a coterie!
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Hunting generates up to $2 million a year in revenue for the company, with hunters paying up to $20,000 to shoot elk.
by Louis Sahagun for the LATimes
Shooting elk is something I have never done before;
they seem majestic creatures with a natural rapport.
Once I shot a rabbit in my bathrobe at one blow;
how it got into my bathrobe I shall never ever know . . .
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The fractured British political landscape makes it difficult to find a deal around which lawmakers can coalesce. If Parliament can’t decide on a form of Brexit, then the default option is for the country to leave the EU with no deal at all in March.
by Max Colchester for the WSJ
In Britain politicians are a pitiable bunch --
they can't decide on soup or salad for their midday lunch.
They vote a measure up and then they vote the same thing down --
they have the reputation of a silly circus clown.
But being an American, I think this poem, alas, is rather like a slingshot in a polished house of glass.
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Butina’s efforts to network with U.S. conservatives coincided with what the U.S. intelligence committee has said was an elaborate effort by the Russian government to interfere with the American electoral system and help elect Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
by Spencer S. Hsu and Rosalind S. Helderman for the Washington Post
American 'lections today
are subject to large Russian sway.
Butina's the tip
of icebergs that drip
influence like mist on a quay.
are subject to large Russian sway.
Butina's the tip
of icebergs that drip
influence like mist on a quay.
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