These people are the most trivial, juvenile, time-wasting people in the long, stupid history of celebrities. Brits everywhere should hide their heads under paper bags for allowing them to encroach on our consciousness when there are sock draws desperately needing order and curling championships to watch.
Today we are told the shocking “news” that Kate Middleton celebrated her birthday a few days ago on January 9 and apparently Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn’t wish her a happy birthday! One source “somewhat dramatically tells Rob Shuter’s ShuterScoop, ‘Not a peep. It’s deliberate. They’re making it clear they’re done. It’s a line in the sand.'”
Another source reassures us, thank God: “Kate? She’s calm, grounded, moving forward. It’s a quiet power play.”
What adult gives a flying fickle finger of fate whether someone remembers their birthday or not? How completely narcissistic and without purpose in life does one have to be to regard that as a “snub”? I’ve forgotten the birthdays of my friends and relatives more often than not: I just can’t store that stuff. I never could remember either of my parents’ birthdays. I remember my own, my late wife’s, because she would have murdered me if I forgot, my son’s, because it is October 27, the date the 2004 Red Sox finally won the World Series, my sister’s, because it’s the day before Halloween, and the birthday of an old unrequited love, who was born on Halloween. I also remember Abe Lincoln’s birthday and George Washington’s. For anyone else, it’s hit or miss.
But someone, anyone, not wishing “Happy Birthday” to a family member? How is this news? I would be more interested in a secondary Kardashian’s rash, the fact that Adam Sandler saves toothpicks, or the news that Joe Biden said a three syllable word without slurring. The current Royals, with a sliver of an exception for King Charles, do nothing, contribute nothing to the public good and deserve as little attention and respect as possible. It is more newsworthy when Chelsea Clinton solves a Soduku.
On the old “Best of the Web” column written by the estimable James Taranto (Happy birthday, Jim!), this would be known as the “Bottom News Story of the Day,” except that I bet 99% if not all of the items he included in that Wall Street Journal feature would have been above the “news” that Kate Middleton didn’t get a birthday card from idiot Harry and his trashy wife.
Thus it is that Ethics Alarms awards this story The Kaufman, because it meets the level of absolute disinterest the great playwright and wit George S. Kaufman delivered on a TV panel show when crooner Eddie Fisher ( father of Carrie, husband of Debbie Reynolds) asked advice from the panel because desirable women were refusing to date him because of his youth. Kaufman replied,
“Mr. Fisher, on Mount Wilson there is a telescope that can magnify the most distant stars to twenty-four times the magnification of any previous telescope. This remarkable instrument was unsurpassed in the world of astronomy until the development and construction of the Mount Palomar telescope. The Mount Palomar telescope is an even more remarkable instrument of magnification. Owing to advances and improvements in optical technology, it is capable of magnifying the stars to four times the magnification and resolution of the Mount Wilson telescope. Mr. Fisher, if you could somehow put the Mount Wilson telescope inside the Mount Palomar telescope, you still wouldn’t be able to see my interest in your problem.”
Actually, I’m more interested in Eddie Fisher’s sex life than Kate Middleton’s hurt boo-boo over her birthday snub.
Here’s Eddie at his best…at least he could sing [Mark your calendars! Eddie’s birthday is August 10!]:
Ethics Alarms 
… and I’m not even going to follow the link to the whole story.
In other news, why doesn’t Jerome Powell explain to Donald Trump that if Powell gives him the low interest rates he wants, he can’t avoid getting the inflation that he doesn’t want?
Inflation is a rise in the general price level. Inflation will occur if the increased spending originates on the consumer side. If however lower interest rates stimulate investment, which has been lagging, the general price level will not necessarily see an increase because investment creates more productive capacity.
It makes more sense to limit consumer credit through limited rates of interest banks can charge on revolving unsecured credit. That will temper inflationary demand pressure by reducing the amount of consumer credit that has high default rates down. I don’t like intervention but if we have to have it we should make rules that achieve multiple goals.
Just a quick note that increased consumer spending often also results in increased investment in production capacity, if it’s not expected to be temporary.
I’m not sure I understand your second paragraph. By “revolving unsecured credit” do you mean people using credit cards to pay off other credit cards? If a bank can tell that a person or behavior has a high default rate, wouldn’t they already have an incentive to limit their credit?
Jack, I think it is mildly intriguing that you invoke a Kaufman to express that you do not care at all about the drama between British royals, but still take the effort to write an entire post about it. That tells me that you care more about the royals than you would like to admit. Is this perhaps because President Donald J Trump habitually falls short in the Kingly function of the Presidency?
No, I care that AOL sends me stupid stories like that as if I care. It’s an insult. It is a sign of Trump-Derangement to tie every story to Donald. He literally didn’t cross my mind when I wrote that.
No Jack I like Donald Trump as President, and I was not aware of the AOL connection as I missed that in the post. Now it will be difficult to tease you further…..
It always amazes me why people in the USA are obsessed with the British royals, given the history of the founding of the USA. I have some theories about that though. One is that there are people who would like the USA to be a bit more like Western Europe (like liberal old ladies). Two, there are people who spend to much time reading tabloid fodder and gossip magazines (like People Magazine or Page Six of the NY Post), because there own lives are too boring. Three, there are people who love fairytales, and everything related to royalty opens a window into a fairytale world.
William and Kate named their first-born boy and first in line to the throne once William is king after crazy King George. And they named their daughter after crazy King George’s wife, Charlotte! Remarkable.
A few thoughts –
I would guess that are are some bets out there with the bookmakers how long the marriage between Harry and Meghan will last. Meghan appears to be a scheming and malignant narcissist to me.
I can understand why Meghan wanted to marry a prince. Women are hypergamous, and want to marry up. And I would guess that when the divorce finally occurs Meghan is financially set for live, a very independently wealthy women. As for Harry, he might have been taken in by a pretty face and superficial charm. Marriage is often transactional; men tend to trade resources for sex, and women tend to trade sex for resources, according to Orion Taraban. My guess is that this marriage is a prime example of that.
The worst part is that Kate Middleton would have had to tell someone that her sister ‘snubbed’ her. How in tarnation would anyone else know? It’s one thing to be privately miffed. It’s just trashy to tell the tabloids.
You are making assumptions here. What if Meghan Markle had told somebody that she was not going to call? The sources are clashing, according to Cosmopolitan. So there is not a lot of clarity about the source of the rumor.
What heterosexual male gives a flying fickle finger of fate whether someone remembers their birthday or not?
FIFY.