don't shoot the pianist
he is doing the best he can

Why is it that I never see news items begin like this?

URBANA, Ohio – A defendant had a hard time facing the music.

Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing classical music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to hip-hop music by the likes of Kanye West and Jay-Z.

Vactor, 24, lasted only about 15 minutes, a probation officer said.

Related: Judge sentences rap fan to Bach, Beethoven

Every federal leaders’ debate, much ado is made about “knockout punches”—the critical one-liner or moment that leaves an opponent not scrambling for words, but completely defeated. Brian Mulroney’s famous “You had a choice” attack on John Turner in the 1984 debate is invoked as an example of a debate which had a massive effect on public opinion.

Yet the fact is that such knockout punches haven’t happened in the twenty-four years since. Party leaders these days spend too much time on debate preparation for that to happen. So while it promises to be a good show and there may even be plenty of fireworks, don’t expect anybody’s political career to end tonight.

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