Things You Just Can't Make Up

THE FLUMMERY DIGEST is a delightful collection of the absurdities the mindlessness pervasive in the MSM seems to produce on an hourly basis. The wonderful dude in Beantown who started this gallery of nitwittery must have been inspired by the "stupid criminal" videos that are on TRU TV and other cable networks for our late night entertainment.

Now we can understand how a freak like Joe Klein can emerge from the woodwork and, like the proverbial termite, consider himself the lord of the manor he is eating into long-term mulch. Some precious masterpieces:

In March, British artist Tracey Emin—whose depiction of her own unmade bed sold for £150,000 and was shortlisted for the 1999 Turner Prize—offered a reward for the return of her missing cat. However, all of the reward flyers she posted on London streets were quickly removed by art lovers eager to possess one of her original works, and the flyers were soon valued at £500 each. A spokesman for Ms. Emin offered a clarification in the London Times: "It's simply a notice to alert neighbors. It's not a conceptual piece of work and it has nothing to do with her art."

The site is an adornment to any blogroll, but one can't resist citing Joe Klein's Godfather in the absurdity business, a true gift from journalism that decade after decade, keeps on giving. I present, the inimitable Fox Butterfield:

[6/4/02]Reporting on crime statistics once again in the New York Times, Fox Butterfield writes that "the increased number of criminals put behind bars has not been an effective deterrent to crime." Instead, a Justice Department study shows "the rate at which inmates released from prison committed new crimes actually rose from 1983 to 1994." Butterfield explains the distinction as follows: "Criminologists generally agree that the prison binge of the last 25 years ... has helped reduce the crime rate, but largely by simply keeping criminals off the streets."

Fox should be displayed in The Smithsonian alongside John Dillinger's pickled penis and other strange sports of nature.....

I'm sure Fox has a deep and thoughtful take on what The Won should do with Gitmo... Perhaps he and Frank Rich should team up for an Off-Off Broadway presentation on "political vaudeville." Paula Abdul could do the commentary offstage....