With my dumb lawyer hat on I'm wondering whether he's intentionally trying to crate a TNR look and feel?

Absolutely he is -- no question. Protected parody, though, I think: no one reading his site is at all likely to be confused.

People talk about Spackerman being crazy as if that were a bad thing.

I'm sure the lawyers are working on the intellectual property angle as we speak. Considering that Spackerman was TNR's last best hope whose departure caused the magazine to be sold off and cut down to a biweekly, one would expect that tNR would fight bitterly. On the other hand, maybe the new owners don't give a shit, and Peretz is a non-factor now.

Did what Emerson in 3 said happen actually happen?

The sold off and cut down to a biweekly part at least is true, yes. Though it's not cut down, exactly--each issue will be larger now.

The causal factors are murkier.

Ackerman left TNR, and TNR was sold off and cut down to a biweekly, but it's not very likely that those things are related as John claims.

I gave Spencer like five novels before he left. Primo shit. What's he doing near a recreation-center book shelf?

5 novels in a couple of days travel? Easy. Boredom plus confinement.

You people don't have the sources I have. Also, you're no fun.

Spackerman: TNR's indispensable man! The man who brought down the mighty Peretz! And transformed American journalism for good!

8: Also, if you've got books packed in the bottom of a bag, a time when you're wandering around from transportation to transportation, not knowing when you're going to have to run for a bus, probably isn't a great time to pull stuff out of your bag to look for them.

after hoc, therefore, uh, something else hoc.

Good luck to Spencer!

Ackerman left TNR, and TNR was sold off and cut down to a biweekly, but it's not very likely that those things are related as John claims.

It is very likely. It was very much a lightning rod for a number of long term subscribers with blogs to announce that they would not be renewing, and I've no reason to believe they were totally unrepresentative of TNR's non-pro-loony-Israel[1] readership. Highly likely that Peretz and the TNR's bankers saw the writing on the wall for the next renewal season and decided drastic measures were appropriate.

[1] "Loony Israel" is an imaginary country occupying roughly the current space of the State of Israel (plus or minus a bit)[2], but where a political tendency which is actually on the fringe of the loony right wing in the real life State of Israel is the conventional mainstream. Despite not existing, the country of Loony Israel has a surprisingly strong lobby in US politics. It is often confused with the actual interests of the State of Israel, which seems to have comparatively little influence.

[2] Specifically, plus a bit

10: Yeah, we need heroes, and want momentous changes to have names associated with them. Hurrah!

Cala is really no fun.

I guess I'm the only one on the Spackerman spin team. No wonder the Democrats always lose.

I'd really like to see him take down Time or Newsweek next. He should just put the moves on Ana Maria Cox, she's easy, and once he's got his nose in the tent he can wreak havoc.

"Loony Israel from the Euphrates to the Nile" is the slogan. That's from II Nimrod 5:16.

I like 'Loony Israel', although I think I'd like it better with 'Loony' translated into Hebrew.

I can't figure out if "nose in the tent" is a sexual or corporate-warfare type euphemism, John.

There's a difference?

I don't know of any sexual meaning for, say, "golden parachute", although I could probably come up with one.

I didn't say "nose in the camel-toe" because that would be too complexly layered for you guys.

He should put the moves on Ana Marie Cox regardless of how it affects his career. She's fun.

If Ackerman services Cox in her preferred manner, does that make him gay like Ogged?

18: "meshuge yisroel" -- actually that's yiddish, because yiddish is just naturally funnier.

I wonder how the Supreme Court would rule? An overturned verdict would be better for them than a pardon.

Woops.

25: That works for me.

23: That's wrongedy wrong wrong. She's annoying as hell (though her annoyingness in person is of a different flavor than the Wonkette anal-mania).

Dude, you've never had a golden parachute?

29: Please don't shatter my illusions. I want to believe in fun-loving, ass-fucking, drunken hottie writers. Is that so wrong?

It sounds like Spencer's having fun. I hope he's using his time wisely, to send postcards to all of us.

29: We'll always have Emily Dickinson.

33 s/b 29. I done stepped on my own joke.

"33 s/b 29" s/b "29 s/b 31", right?

I give up. I'm going to go get more Becks-style than Emily Dickinson.

to 31: what am I chopped liver? oh, wait, I'm no longer drunken. carry on, then.

There would have been quite a bit more frisson, alameida, if you'd just emailed me to say that you like anal.

Chopped liver is ok with enough tabasco.

Nothing is as good as smoked fish, however, including but not limited to carp.