As recently as 2007, Vanity Fair’s resident man of letters (presently dead), Christopher Hitchens, attempted to put a philosophical spin on a theme that recurs with suspect regularity in the comedy world. “Why Women Aren’t Funny” reads like the world’s most long-winded back hand of a compliment, including such Victorian condescension as: “Whereas women, bless their tender hearts, would prefer that life be fair, and even sweet, rather than the sordid mess it actually is. Jokes about calamitous visits to the doctor or the shrink or the bathroom, or the venting of sexual frustration on furry domestic animals, are a male province.” Right, because shit and fart jokes are really just thinly disguised death metaphors and women, unable to bear basic facts of reality, don’t understand the toilet foundation of comedy’s great temple. In this framing, South Park is Dostoyevsky. I’m also fairly certain that torturing animals out of sexual frustration is a psychiatric diagnosis, not a finely tuned gender sensibility. It’s not just Hitchens; Jerry Lewis infamously said much the same without all the literary pomp and even further down the sexism food chain, Two and A Half Men co-creator, Lee Aronsohn, twittered his way into this great debate by dismissively summarizing the role of women in comedy: “Enough, ladies. I get it. You have periods.” more ›

Ifill: Palin "blew me off." Obama raises shocking possibility of Republican smear tactics. One more month. Tina Fey. Total hoot. Hollaback, Hasselbeck. Regarding chicken: cook it. more ›

There is an old saying about house guests and fish. Human error blamed in LA train tragedy. Some headlines make one do the chuckling. Le sigh. "Uhhh-huh-huh-huh. You said teeters."Ike, you are such an asshole. Tina Fey, you are such a badass. more ›