Hendrick Hertzberg

As any comedian—or anyone who's ever been asked to give a wedding speech—knows, if you have to tell the audience you're joking, you're not funny. At all. But in the Post-Barry Blitt-New Yorker-Cover world ("7/21, Never Forget"), every joke suddenly requires a rim-shot and a "waka-waka" lest someone, somewhere get offended by something. If Blanche Knott were still alive, she'd probably kill herself by choking on a rubber chicken. (Get it?!)

The New Yorker's Hendrick Hertzberg seemed to anticipate this new post-funny era in his "Comment" in this week's issue of the magazine:

Back in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, candidates for President of the United States didn’t have much truck with foreigners.  read more »

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A wide-ranging list of political figures met today with Eliot Spitzer at a closed-door luncheon on Lexington Avenue, organized by the Brennan Center, to discuss his efforts to overhaul the state’s campaign finance laws.

It‘s something Spitzer has been advocating since he unilaterally disarmed by agreeing to a self-imposed contribution limit of $10,000, far below the current legal limit which is more than $50,000.

Spitzer said he and his supporters were “building a universe of citizens who care about ensuring the integrity of our process.” The state’s current campaign contribution limits are “extraordinarily high and bread an air of disrespect for substantive decisions that are made in Albany.”

Engaging the public is a key part of reform plan. “Very often what you hear from those who oppose campaign finance reform is, ‘well, the public doesn’t care,’” Spitzer said. “I think they are wrong. We will prove the public does care.”

Attendees at the event include:

Larry Rockefeller, a Republican,
Geraldine Ferraro, Larry Mone, Frederick Schwarz and Hendrik Hertzberg. Also:  read more »