Three months ago, Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) posted a series of tweets about what might happen if someone who unknowingly has Ebola flies to the United States. Given the news of the past few days, I thought it was a good time to recall Rick’s “thought experiment,” which Michelle Ray (@GaltsGirl) had wisely storified. Read it. Then pour yourself a nice stiff drink.

No, wait … pour yourself that stiff drink now. This will take a while, and you may need it.

Note: If you prefer scrolling to clicking through a slideshow, you can read it at Storify.com.

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

Surprising almost everyone, the Denver Post endorsed Republican Cory Gardner over incumbent Democrat Mark Udall in Colorado’s hotly contested Senate race. And they did so with some surprisingly kind words for Gardner and harsh words for Udall (emphasis added):

In every position the Yuma Republican has held over the years — from the state legislature to U.S. House of Representatives — he has quickly become someone to be reckoned with and whose words carry weight. …

…

Udall is a fine man with good intentions, and on some issues our views are closer to his than to Gardner’s. But he is not perceived as a leader in Washington …

Rather than run on his record, Udall’s campaign has devoted a shocking amount of energy and money trying to convince voters that Gardner seeks to outlaw birth control despite the congressman’s call for over-the-counter sales of contraceptives. Udall is trying to frighten voters rather than inspire them with a hopeful vision. His obnoxious one-issue campaign is an insult to those he seeks to convince.

As David Harsanyi and The Original SPQR noted, Udall’s meeting with the Denver Post editorial board must not have gone well:

@davidharsanyi Given the Post’s past tendency to endorse the most inept of Democrats … he must have been abysmal.

— The Original SPQR (@SPQRzilla) October 10, 2014

The Denver Post endorsement news led to a fun exchange on Twitter between Mike Littwin and me. Littwin was formerly a columnist for the Denver Post, and before that for the late, lamented Rocky Mountain News. He now writes for the online Colorado Independent. The conversation started with this Littwin tweet:

Denver Post endorses Gardner, cites Udall’s “obnoxious” one-issue campaign. Unusual for Post to go against an incumbent. #copolitics 1/2 — Michael Littwin (@mike_littwin) October 10, 2014

My response:

FIFY @mike_littwin Denver Post endorses Gardner, cites Udall’s “obnoxious” one-issue campaign. Unusual for Post to go against a Democrat.

— Richard G. Combs (@rgcombs) October 10, 2014

Littwin didn’t appreciate — or understand — that:

@rgcombs I said, as you know, unusual for Post to go against an incumbent. Don’t misquote please. — Michael Littwin (@mike_littwin) October 10, 2014

@mike_littwin I guess you don’t know that FIFY means “Fixed it for you.” It’s called humor; look into it.

— Richard G. Combs (@rgcombs) October 10, 2014

My response was a bit mean and unfair. Littwin is really very funny at times — for a rabid left-winger. His reply was gracious:

@rgcombs sorry. not down with FIFY. now i know. — Michael Littwin (@mike_littwin) October 10, 2014

@mike_littwin You’ll find it’s quite handy at times. 😉

— Richard G. Combs (@rgcombs) October 10, 2014

Littwin has been on Twitter for five years, so I’m surprised he didn’t know what FIFY means. It’s a pretty common humorous shorthand for “What you said isn’t quite accurate; here’s what you should have said” (with a 140-character limit, you need a very short version of that). It’s usually followed by a rewrite that’s worthy of a rimshot (at least the person using it hopes so).

I guess his failure to have encountered that acronym before speaks to the kinds of people he follows (not many, and mostly politicians, political consultants, and left-wing journalists). I see FIFY used all the time.

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed