Dizzying mixed metaphors/figurative language in this sentence. Anoint, fraternity, crash, BUTTERING!? Summers was, famously, a president, so it makes sense to have that allusion here; but what is the writer doing with it? Priests, not presidents, are anointed. Promote instead of anoint?
Crashed careers is nicely alliterative, but jammed right up against soft slithery buttering it just makes a mess.
November 24th, 2025 at 10:46PM
More basically, you can’t butter up TO someone. You can only butter someone up.
Another question that I have about your objections to these Epstein-adjacent academics who took his tainted pedophile money – why is this a bad way to deal with malign rich people? I understand the symbolic “bad look” problem, and the danger of laundering a reputation this way (which appears to have been among Epstein’s intentions in giving his money in the first place), but isn’t it also the case that taking these people’s donations parts them from their money and puts that money in better hands? I am reminded of an incident a million years ago when Ron Paul got a donation from some white supremacist and the media clamored for him to return it, and he denounced the donor but kept the money and said something to the effect that, “that’s $1000 less for this guy to do his work with.” His money is better off with me, essentially. Why is that not also true of people like Epstein? Is his money worse off with MIT Media Lab or the Poetry Foundation than in his pocket?
November 25th, 2025 at 11:34PM
Rita: Not a good move – the money is always tainted by association, and has to be repudiated, not used.