If anyone is wondering, Fran Lebowitz was great. Maybe that’s the wrong word, though. You don’t go to see Fran to laugh until you pee; it’s more a matter of chortling. She’s not a standup comic, but a wry observer of the world around us, and her friends. She told us about Martin Scorsese, and that photo by Peter Hujar, and Charles Mingus, who came for Thanksgiving at her parents’ house one year.
And she said something about Democrats in Washington. Yes, yes, they can’t get anything done when they’re in the minority and are blocked on everything, etc., but they can do one thing, she said: They can amplify the feelings and opinions of their constituents, and those constituents are furious.
This got a big response from the crowd. And yet, Michigan’s two do-nothing senators, both Democrats, continue to not do just that.
I read a review of Virginia Giuffre’s book, discussed at midweek.
The critic, Emma Brockes, puts her finger square on what I’ve been wondering since we all saw all those photos of Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book:
But so much focus has been put on the prince that after reading this book, it wasn’t him I thought about most; it was the casual visitors to Epstein’s New York mansion, the illustrious men and occasional woman whom Giuffre says she encountered at dinners there.
In respect of these people I’d like to ask: who the fuck did they think the 17-year-old at the table was? What did they think she was doing there? Only Melinda Gates, who met Epstein once and cited him as a factor in the breakdown of her marriage to Bill Gates, sensed what apparently none of these people could put their finger on. Giuffre quotes from a statement made by Gates after her meeting with Epstein: “I regretted it the second I walked in the door. He was abhorrent. He was evil personified.” It was an insight that evidently escaped geniuses like the MIT professors Epstein continued to advise long after he’d become a convicted sex offender.
Ex!act!ly! It’s my belief that they knew exactly what she was doing there, and didn’t care. Rich people make their own rules. Also this guy…
The closest we get to a fresh allegation is Giuffre’s description of one of the scores of men Epstein forced her to have sex with as a “politician” and “former minister”, who choked and beat her almost unconscious, but who, she writes, is too powerful to name.
…is said to be Ehud Barak.
OK, then, time to wrap the week. The east wing of the White House is a pile of rubble, my massage was heavenly (“you’re very symmetrical,” the therapist said as she worked on my back), and it seems a good note to end on. The pedophiles and current crisis will still be there on Monday.
Do I have any photos to share? Not really. Here was the whiteboard workout for my Wednesday lifeguarding shift. Swimmers, give it a try:
Have a great weekend.
Mark P said on October 24, 2025 at 11:28 am
I heard cryptoMAGAt David Brooks on public radio talking about the blue states trying to redistrict to counter the red states’ gerrymandering. He said the Democrats need to avoid fighting fire with fire and “disenfranchising” Republicans in blue states. He wants the Democrats to pat themselves on the back for their moral superiority as the country sinks into neoNazi authoritarianism. I don’t know whether he is evil or just stupid.
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Bob (not Greene) said on October 24, 2025 at 11:50 am
Thanks for the workout Nancy — I need to get my ass back in the pool. I think it may take me a bit to get back to 2,500 yards, but that workout sets out that yardage in doable chunks. I just have to keep telling myself I’m not training to race anymore and not get so hung up on how fast I can get it done. It’s been a hard habit to break even though I haven’t swum competitively in decades.
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Lana LeSieur said on October 24, 2025 at 11:51 am
Why not both?
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Suzanne said on October 24, 2025 at 11:57 am
I would say Brooks is neither evil nor stupid but one of the many people I have met over the years who are utterly clueless. Intelligent, successful people who know nothing about anything other than their own business, own lives, and own thoughts. And they don’t want to know. My kids always called them smart/dumb people. They have always confounded me and it is something I cannot explain but believe they will be the death of us all.
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Mark P said on October 24, 2025 at 12:12 pm
Well, stupid is as stupid does, and evil is as evil does.
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alex said on October 24, 2025 at 12:15 pm
Roy Edroso did a great smackdown of David Brooks and his mealy-mouthed MAGA apologia: https://edroso.substack.com/p/the-sorta-friends-of-davey-brooks
As loathsome as the causes and people he endorses may be, you’re never gonna be able to pin them on him. He knows well enough not to go MAGA balls deep; like the last few inches of his shaft, he’s in the clear.
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Jeff Borden said on October 24, 2025 at 12:52 pm
David Brooks is an establishment figure who has been unable to grasp the cruelty, the greed, the depravity and the lawlessness of tRump and his goons. Like Chuck Schumer and, to a lesser degree, Hakeem Jeffries, he simply doesn’t see the blitzkrieg that’s been unleashed and how it cannot be fought by the Marquis of Queensbury rules. They all think moral rectitude, the sense of tradition and an element of comity can somehow deflect this madman and his lawless confederates. It’s been 10 years since that bloated piece of weasel shit descended his tacky golden elevator and entered the presidential race and still –still– they don’t understand him or how to fight him.
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susan said on October 24, 2025 at 12:58 pm
Driftglass is the Doyen of the Inanities of David Brooks. There is no one even close to his expertise.
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Jerrie in midMD said on October 24, 2025 at 1:27 pm
Charles Pierce wrote years ago that David Brooks tried to “perfume the Republican sewer.” He’s still doing it.
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Dexter Friend said on October 24, 2025 at 2:17 pm
Nobody gets it like Fran Lebowitz. I just haven’t seen her on TV in a few years. I’d love to see her onstage or even sit with her over coffee and just listen. I wonder if she still garages her Checker Marathon in Manhattan.
We all have our favorite celebrities.
Does she do a podcast?
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Peter said on October 24, 2025 at 2:23 pm
Swimming: I do twice that distance every day. Walking. Swimming? That was a week’s worth before my heart problems; now, that’s almost unimaginable. Kudos to you and the swimmers!
Democrats: The way media is these days, what do you do? Our Fearless leader has turned political discourse into what you’d see on old time wrestling programs, and that’s far down the list of the crap he’s done. Fight fire with fire? You get the whataboutism and pearl clutching “Oh, they are so MEAN to us!”. Gavin Newsom has it right – ridicule is the only thing that gets notice and gets them howling.
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alex said on October 24, 2025 at 3:19 pm
ridicule is the only thing that gets notice and gets them howling.
The AI image of the “Charlie Kirk Memorial Fountain” (spouting from the jugular) is a case in point. Gets me howling too, in the LMFAO sense.
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Julie Robinson said on October 24, 2025 at 4:08 pm
Not sure I could do that workout and I don’t have a kickboard, but I can aspire!
We’re on the plane heading back to Orlando after a glorious NYC trip. The weather cooperated and I was justified in leaving the puffer coat at home.
We attended five Broadway shows, one worship service, and visited three museums. With one exception they were wonderful. That’s a decent percentage. As always my daughter did all the heavy lifting by finding our way around and using the best mode of transportation. She also excels at finding good places to eat that aren’t standard tourist fare. She does the work and I bring the credit card. It seems a fair trade to me.
Now it’s back to reality and I will engage again with the world.
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Sherri said on October 24, 2025 at 4:18 pm
Julie, what shows did you see?
The NBA has a huge gambling scandal, with an active player and a head coach both arrested. ESPN was discussing it on one of their shows when someone in the control room figured out that maybe having an ad for ESPN Bet at the bottom of the screen wasn’t the best idea…
https://bsky.app/profile/chrisdeleon.bsky.social/post/3m3vqopflyc26
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David C said on October 24, 2025 at 4:27 pm
Any out of the ordinary flight delays, Julie? I have to go back to Wisconsin for work and I’m trying to decide whether to fly, take the train, or drive. It’s on expense account so method makes no difference to me. I just want the least hassle.
All sports are going to regret jumping into gambling with both feet. The Guardians have their scandal ongoing and now the NBA. I see now that you will be able to gamble away your retirement accounts. What could possible go wrong with that?
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Deborah said on October 24, 2025 at 4:51 pm
I flew to Albuquerque from Chicago with no problem, and LB left for Hawaii today from Albuquerque with a stop in Oakland with no problem there either. She is currently in the air headed for Hawaii. Hopefully the trip back will be no problem as well, she goes through San Diego then.
This trip is our early Christmas/Birthday gift to LB. She is staying with a friend while in Honolulu so no lodging costs except to help pay for food. And the airfare from Santa Fe to Honolulu was a lot less than I was expecting.
Her friend is a traveling medical worker who took this gig for 2 months so she could see Hawaii. She’s not crazy about the actual job in the hospital there, she says it’s more chaotic than other places she has been, but she can live with it for 2 months to get to experience Hawaii. LB has visited her in many of the places she’s been working, it’s a great experience, they’ve been friends since kindergarten.
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Jakash said on October 24, 2025 at 6:33 pm
“They can amplify the feelings and opinions of their constituents, and those constituents are furious.”
I’m sorry — I really enjoy Fran’s shtick, but I just don’t see what practical effect that might have. Bernie has been doing that for years.
All 3 branches of the federal government are overseen by Republicans and are essentially corrupt. I don’t know what can be done about it, but screaming and shouting (and marching) haven’t proven to be very effective.
Months ago, everybody was railing against Schumer and Durbin for voting to avoid a shutdown. Well, they were talked into shutting it all down this time. How’s that been working out?
Dexter, there are more Fran Lebowitz videos on YouTube than you can shake a stick at. If you have Netflix, Martin Scorsese directed a swell documentary miniseries about her on there that’s very enjoyable.
It’s called “Pretend It’s a City.”
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Sherri said on October 24, 2025 at 7:30 pm
The Texas GOP doesn’t want anybody to know that the Alamo represents slaveholders fighting to maintain slavery, rather than a bunch of freedom fighters looking to escape tyranny.
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/the-ceo-of-the-alamos-historic-site-has-resigned-after-a-top-texas-republican-criticized-her/
How long before the GOP fully embraces slavery as a good thing?
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Julie Robinson said on October 24, 2025 at 8:07 pm
Hey all, we had about a 20 minute delay because flights were stacked up waiting to land. Perhaps because some air traffic controllers got the “flu”. There was only one TSA line open and everyone seemed cranky. I don’t blame them.
Shows we saw in order of preference: Just in Time, Death Becomes Her, Chess, Oh Mary!, and Queen of Versailles. Loved the first four, was extremely disappointed in the last. Kristin Chenoweth starring and Stephen Schwartz composing couldn’t save it. Awful, awful, awful.
If you like quilts, the American Folk Museum across from the Lincoln Center has a fantastic exhibit. Dorothy, I know you’d love it.
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Sherri said on October 24, 2025 at 8:19 pm
We have tickets for The Outsiders, Six, and Oh Mary! Hoping that the air traffic controllers and the Broadway unions allow us to make it!
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