Word: losers
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...need to demonize Obama trumped the party's ideological beliefs. The budget commission - to take one flagrant example - was blocked by a group of Republican Senators who had supported or sponsored it. These included the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, and the formerly virtuous John McCain, a sore loser who has reversed his position on practically everything lately. The Senate Republicans then proceeded to vote unanimously against a provision, attached to a necessary increase in the debt limit, that would force Congress to pay for every new initiative it enacts. This "paygo" provision was the law of the land when...
...enacted as a Shi'ite cri de coeur. Iran, the pre-eminent Shi'ite nation, commemorated Ashura amid its own power struggle. Tens of thousands took to the streets, chanting, "We are the army of Imam Hussain ... supporters of Mir-Hossein." Hussain had become Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the declared loser in last June's presidential election to the "usurper" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The authorities reacted ferociously, with bullets and batons, killing several people. The opposition responded with fists and stones, almost boastful of its long-lived defiance. The protesters, whose campaign has lasted for more than six months, acted...
...mass audience. (And great to critics, who put the Mann and Jonze films on their 10-best lists, and would rightly fret if big-budget assignments went only to hacks.) Consider, too, that none of the first seven of the top 10 grossers had traditional stars; but the loser list featured the likes of Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, John Travolta, Johnny Depp and Will Ferrell. The lesson, which Hollywood should have learned by now: $20 million salaries - star wattage - don't always metamorphose into box-office heat...
Last time out, our singing rodents followed the guidance of their perplexed owner Dave (Jason Lee) and became international rock stars. This time Dave, in traction in Paris, sends them back to Los Angeles, where their caretaker is Toby, a PlayStation addict and all-around loser played by Zachary Levi (star of TV's Chuck). His main function - except for failing in public, then being romantically rewarded for it - is to make sure the chipmunks go to ... high school? Affirmative action in California admission policies now apparently applies to 8-in.-tall brown animals...
...gifts, says Professor Joel Waldfogel of the Wharton School. Waldfogel, the author of Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays, insists his theory is solid economics, not bah, humbug. "As an institution for 'allocating resources' (getting stuff to the right people), holiday giving is a complete loser." If you spend $50 on yourself, he explains, you'll get something worth $50 to you. But if your Aunt Bernice buys you a $50 Christmas gift, she's likely to buy something that's worth nothing to you. In economic terms, that's a "deadweight loss...