A reader asks: Would you rather a bottle of Jameson’s or for me to subscribe to National Review?
This is a tough, tough question. I’m very tempted to borrow a page from the New Democrats and say that I believe this is a “false choice.” There’s no reason you cannot do both. But, I suppose if push came to shove (and I don’t mean the suits shoving me instead of just pushing me), I would prefer you subscribed to National Review. The success of this site, this magazine, and most of all, my career depends heavily on the support of people like you (yeah you the guy in the cubicle pretending to be cleaning his mouse pad).
In fact, since tomorrow is my birthday, I would be mightily pleased if you bought a subscription based upon my pleading. This would send the suits the proper message (and maybe even get them to buy me some Jameson’s). You could even send them a signal by adding “Cosmo” to your first name when you fill-in the subscription info (i.e. JohnCosmo Smith…). And, of course, those of you eager to get me a birthday present but already subscribe, there’s really no choice at all. I like the twelve-year olds — but not in a Michael Jackson kind of way.