Kieran Healy

Open Wide

Hit and Run, the new blog by the people at Reason magazine, comment
on George Packer’s skewering of Dinesh D’Souza’s Letters to a Young Conservative:

Packer’s critique is mostly successful, though some of his arguments would be more credible coming from a conservative than from a liberal.

I think this means “It would make me feel better if Packer’s criticisms had come from someone on my side of the ideological fence because, you know, he’s basically right.” Just close your eyes and swallow the cod liver oil, guys. It’s good for you.

(Were American children made to drink cod liver oil? Probably not, the lucky sods.)

Cod liver oil? Oh yes. But not for at least the last 50 years or so. Is it still in vogue in the mother country?

I was, until I was 4 or 5 I think. That would have been the late ‘70s. Then gelcaps were introduced, which I’d say is what my younger siblings got. Then—- well, frankly, then GNP went up and diet improved, I think.

Ah, yes. The warm oily ooze down the throat. The instant rebellion of the stomach. The holding nose and mouth closed because you knew if it came back up more would be going down…

The good old days! :-)