Jay Nordlinger
@jaynordlinger.bsky.social
5.4K followers 220 following 1.6K posts
Senior resident fellow, the Renew Democracy Initiative. Music critic, The New Criterion. Substack: Onward and Upward.
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jaynordlinger.bsky.social
For me, there is no el in "wolf" (same as in "yolk"). Yesterday, I was talking with a friend who pronounces the el. Today, he sent me an image from a dictionary and said, "Both of our pronunciations are acceptable." But mine is classified as "nonstandard"! (Story of my life ...)
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
It is not the job of the U.S. president to be involved in every nook and cranny of life -- late-night talk shows, sports events, etc. Conservatives taught me this long ago, and they were right. apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump threatens to yank World Cup games from Boston though it's up to FIFA to choose sites
President Donald Trump is threatening to relocate World Cup matches set to be played next year in suburban Boston.
apnews.com
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
Reading Michael Warren on attorney general Pam Bondi, I thought of a story from rock-and-roll history. Members of a band trashed a hotel room or something. The band's leader was asked, "Aren't they embarrassed?" He answered, "These guys don't embarrass easy." thedispatch.com/article/pam-...
How Much Humiliation Will Pam Bondi Endure?
The DOJ has turned into Donald Trump’s boutique law firm. Does the attorney general care?
thedispatch.com
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
President Trump "has achieved a remarkable success and deserves full credit for it," says @eliotacohen.bsky.social. From me, two quick comments: (1) Prof. Cohen is a serious analyst. (2) I salute the president and his team for their achievement. 👍 www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Trump’s Great Achievement
If the president succeeds in ending the Gaza war, he will deserve a gala night in Oslo.
www.theatlantic.com
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
The Trump administration has required the National Symphony Orchestra to play the national anthem before every concert. I like our anthem as much as the next guy (probably more). But -- is this patriotism? Or something else? The issue leads my column today. www.jaynordlinger.com/p/standing-f...
Standing for America, &c.
On the national anthem before every concert; the Riyadh Comedy Festival; the evil of Russia in Ukraine; a glimpse of Seamus Heaney; and more
www.jaynordlinger.com
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
The Talbots contributed a great deal to New York life and to artistic life. Another masterly obit by Sam Roberts (what else is new?). www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/m...
Toby Talbot, Impassioned Promoter of Art Films, Dies at 96
www.nytimes.com
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
A remark made by Kevin D. Williamson in this excellent and interesting article made me reflect on something: The best musicians I know tend to be very ecumenical. thedispatch.com/newsletter/w...
Why Snobbery Is Cheap
On getting the details—and arguments—right.
thedispatch.com
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
A friend sent me a glorious postcard with a picture of Frederick Douglass, and a statement by him: "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
You are too reasonable for social media, LCH -- part of what makes you extraordinary ...
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
Laura, by saying "West Village," are you conceding that "East Village" is a legitimate concept (instead of a gimmick by real-estate brokers)? Isn't Greenwich Village "the Village," plain and simple, with no "East," or need for the qualifier "West"? LCH, we turn our lonely New York eyes to you!
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
There is an English saying, admired by Lincoln: "Once a man establishes a reputation as an early riser, he can sleep till noon." Has New York, where pizza is concerned, been sleeping till noon? This incendiary question leads my column this evening. www.jaynordlinger.com/p/parlor-gam...
Parlor Games, &c.
On pizza in New York, and elsewhere; a golf story; a song; and more
www.jaynordlinger.com
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
"THE BIDEN FBI PLACED 274 AGENTS INTO THE CROWD ON JANUARY 6." As you know, Biden wasn't president on that day. Trump was. Don't you think Trump should know it? And doesn't his message, below, suggest that he is unfit for the office?
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
I was talking with a friend and made this confession: When I was younger, I thought everything was settled, pretty much. Feudalism bad. Nazism bad. Communism bad. Liberal democracy good. Etc. How weird it has been to discover, at this stage, that nothing is settled.
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
He plays our president like a violin, Putin does. This is dangerous for our country, and for the Free World generally.
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
The Nobel prizes began in 1901. The peace prize always went for international efforts -- until the 1960 prize, which went to a freedom struggle in one country: South Africa. The laureate was Albert John Luthuli, a great man. The 2025 prize is in that spirit.
jaynordlinger.bsky.social
Sometimes a Nobel prize aids a freedom struggle, sometimes it does not. Let us hope that the prize to María Corina Machado, a brave woman, aids the freedom struggle in Venezuela.