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Have you noticed, lately, that there's been a lot less mocking of Times columnists and a lot more mocking of Times reviewers? How long before they put Alessandra Stanley behind a pay wall, do you think?

Commander in Chief, Stanley said, is "veined" with "a devilish look at the vanity of public servants." Kind of like how (Nexis tells us) Pope John Paul II s funeral in April was "mass spirituality veined by the political intrigue of the Medici court."

Other examples in that vein: The creators of Over There, "have been careful to vein their drama with a message that is cautiously bold: hate war, love the troops."

Curb Your Enthusiasm? "Veined," Stanley said, with "pessimism, loony narcissism and political incorrectness." Oops, she forgot "misanthropy," which on another occasion Stanley said "veins 'Curb' and makes it so distinctive."

It's a good bit of close reading, though it doesn't quite limn all the reasons why Ms. Stanley finds herself a target these days.

Veiny, Vidi, Vici [B&C]