A Pilgrim in an Unholy Land--Wandering Through Beckistan
Since I live outside of Washington DC, I could not resist the temptation to go down and look at the freak show on the mall yesterday. In nearly all respects, however, it was pretty disappointing. The...
View ArticleWas It Over When The Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor?
I not suggesting that a childish gesture be done on somebody's part, but the time to wallow and worry is not now. Nor is it time to sit around. Many of us have reasons to not be terribly pleased with...
View ArticleOnly An Expert...
I appreciate Laurie Anderson's work. I started following her in college and her Big Science album. She is a musician of sorts, but what she really creates is performance art that is truly unique and...
View ArticleBurning Crayons...
Obviously burning Qurans is a horribly bad idea for so many reasons. The current anti-Muslim fervor is very hard to take at times; being connected to a group subject to such blind hatred takes a toll....
View ArticleDailyKos Pre-One Nation March Social in DC 10/1/10
In the process of arranging for lodgings for some out of towners for the BIG 10/2 One Nation March in DC, hopeful and I had the idea to have a Social/Meetup/Event on Friday evening to get to know some...
View Article10/1/10--Pre 10/2/10 March Social--DailyKos Friday Night Meetup
In the process of arranging for lodgings for some out of towners for the BIG 10/2 One Nation March in DC, hopeful and I had the idea to have a Social/Meetup/Event on Friday evening to get to know some...
View ArticleFriday 10/1 DC Kossack Meetup!!!
Hi All,We finalized our game plan. We decided not to reserve a place because we could not get a good bead on our actual numbers. I hope that many of you within driving distance are going to be "spur of...
View Article10/1 DC One Nation Kossack Meetup-Repetition Is a Form of Emphasis
Hi All,We finalized our game plan. We decided not to reserve a place because we could not get a good bead on our actual numbers. I hope that many of you within driving distance are going to be "spur of...
View Article10/2 Post March Meetup
The 10/1 meetup went well--we had about 30 people show up and everyone was in very good spirits. The place worked well for this purpose. So well that it is the consensus that it should be the meetup...
View ArticleIran: Small but Good News for a Change
Yesterday An Iranian diplomat, Mohammad Ali Qanezadeh, director of Asian affairs at Iran's Foreign Ministry, joined a largely NATO sponsored group meeting in Rome on Afghanistan. Richard Holbrooke was...
View ArticleSanity 10/30/10 DC Meetup 2?
Hi Folks. I just want to send out a quick trial balloon to see if any Kossacks out there are heading to DC next weekend for the Sanity/Fear rallies. If you're interested please express yourself in the...
View ArticleHere's an Analogy
I know that referring to the American electorate as a metaphorical child is dangerous. I am going to attempt this anyway. The "R" side of the aisle is the abusive father. The "D" side is the passive...
View ArticleGive'em an Inch...
From the party that thought they had enough "political capital" from a thin victory in 2004 for re-vamping Social Security, one can only imagine what they are going to come up with in the next few...
View ArticleCome Home America
When the paperback version of William Greider's Come Home America came out last February I posted a review and discussion of the book. You can see it here: February 2, 2010.Given the current...
View ArticleBiden, Clinton, Dodd, Edwards, Gravel, Kucinich, Richardson
For everybody pissed off at Obama, that's the list of the actual candidates that ran in one or more of the primaries. Do you really think, of the ones on that list that were electable, that any of them...
View ArticleAt The Risk...
At the risk of being perceived as heartless or callous, Reza Pahlavi is a miserable opportunist weasel. Normally, a subject like family death, I would leave alone. Normally, a suicide, I would...
View ArticlePink Martini--For the Moment
I've been a big fan of Pink Martini. They are an excellent band of musicians from Portland Oregon that defy classification. The title track from their recent album "Splendor in the Grass" captures how...
View ArticleI Caught Dengue Fever This Weekend
You might have heard the radio spots about Dengue Fever--a terrible disease passed by mosquitoes. That's not what I'm talking about here. The Dengue Fever I'm talking about is the fusion band that...
View ArticleObama, Hillary, Now is a Good Time for the US to Remain Silent Regarding Iran...
I've never been a big fan of Hillary Clinton's Foreign Policy. I thought she was a war-monger during the campaign just a couple clicks toward sanity compared to McCain and his "Bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran."...
View ArticleHamid Dabashi on Iran--From Democracy Now
Hamid Dabashi is a professor at Columbia University. Back in 2009 he wrote an excellent essay comparing Iran's Green Movement to the US Civil Rights Movement, and not a repeat of the 1979 Revolution....
View ArticleIran: The People Reloaded
In January of this year Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel published an anthology of essays, interviews and documents related to the Green Movement and the course of political reform in Iran. Nader Hashemi...
View ArticleIran: Mousavi and Karroubi Arrested?
Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, two of the most visible leaders of Iran's Green Movement and recent presidential candidates, and their wives appear to have been arrested. Why so tentative? A...
View ArticleIran: Rafsanjani-The Consumate Manipulator-Is Out
Ayatollah Rafsanjani declined to stand for the position heading the Assembly of Experts, and as a result traditional conservative Ayatollah Kani will now lead the Assembly, receiving 63 of 86 votes....
View ArticleI Want My Dengue Fever
Back in January I wrote a diary about this great band I discovered--Dengue Fever. You can see it HERE. They are from LA and I live in the DC area, and that is why it took me so long to find out about...
View ArticleStephen Walt in FP--"Addicted to War"
In an incredibly concise piece just published in Foreign Policy magazine, Stephen Walt outlines why we are so deeply screwed in foreign policy by the power of the US Foreign Policy Establishment.Check...
View ArticleAndrew Bacevich and The American Empire Project
I've written about Andrew Bacevich a few times before, mostly about his 2008 book The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. His work and contributions are prominently featured by The...
View ArticleState Funding for Anti-Abortion
Part of my job involves evaluating contracting opportunities for my company. This process involves many automated searches that turn up all kinds of information--most of which are not really related to...
View ArticleIran: Unprecendented Internal Conflict
In the short history of the Islamic Republic of Iran two men have occupied the position of Rahbar, or "Leader;" a post that gets sloppily translated into "Supreme Leader." Ayatollah Khomeini, the...
View ArticleBelated Cinco De Mayo Friday Night Beer Blog
Taking a break tonight from the usual serious topics and turning to one of my favorite things---Beer--Mexican Beer. I know Cinco de Mayo was over a week ago--but I'm still celebrating in my own way.I...
View ArticleIf Huma Abedin Was My Daughter...
I never intended to weigh in on the Weinergate controversy, but...If Huma Abedin was my daughter and her husband of one year was texting pictures of his junk to a coed, I would tell her to RUN, not...
View ArticleFor All the Iran/Nuclear Hand Wringers and Israel Apologists
The fundamental problem between the US and Iran right now is that there are NO good options. It does not matter whether you are talking about nukes, regime change, or whatever silly thing lame duck...
View ArticleLet's Do It Again
I received this video in email. It's pretty good, and these five young men can't even vote. Their message is simple--and that's just as well.Sure, there's much in the last three years to complain...
View ArticleNicolas Kristof and the Rational Consensus on Iran
Today in the NY Times Nicolas Kristof has published an excellent piece that pretty much skewers the idea that Israel bombing Iran is anywhere near a rational idea. Furthermore, this is not about a...
View ArticleFasten Your Seatbelts
There certainly is a great deal in the news these days to make us feel that 2012 may turn out OK. The gender gap, early polling etc. Maybe it will. However, I fear complacency. A few shifts here and...
View Article100% American 0% Democrat
This will be a short one, and I'm sure we will see much more of this garbage as the election year continues. As I stopped at the hardware store today to pick up some energy saving light bulbs, I saw...
View ArticleUntil Nov. 7th Treat Romney Like Rasputin
Disclaimer: This is an analogy, I am in no way implying that I think Romney should be subjected to a conspiratorial murder plot. Here's the analogy: Treat Romney's 2012 Presidential Campaign like...
View ArticleGood Polling Shows Obama as Seabiscuit Again
The last few days of polls certainly have made me feel better. Four years ago I compared Obama's campaign to the 1938 Match Race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. I think this years' campaign mirrors...
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Mr. Romney--Your Rejection Letter
November 6, 2012 The United States of AmericaDear Mr. Romney,After months, years actually, of seeing and hearing you on the national political stage we regret to inform you that we found a far more...
View ArticleWell Hell, Drink a Budweiser Tonight!!
Reading over on the old HuffPo, I see that Adolphus Busch IV has resigned from the NRA. I'm sure I don't agree with him on much, but he had the decency to tell them exactly why he was done with them....
View ArticleReflections on Government Contracting
I work for a small business that provides software, services and system integration for the federal government. I have taken part in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process and the delivery of services...
View Article304 > 365
At what level in elementary school can an average student determine the validity of the following mathematical statements? 304 > 332304 > 365304 > 379304 > 370304 > 286304 > 271304...
View ArticleRemember the Neutron Bomb?
Kill the PoorEfficiency and progress is ours once moreNow that we have the Neutron bombIt's nice and quick and clean and gets things doneAway with excess enemyBut no less value to propertyNo sense in...
View ArticleFire the Secret Service--All of Them
Its real simple. In the absence of records one can assume the worst. Every member of the Secret Service who cannot or will not produce the requested records from the selected dates needs to be fired...
View ArticleOrange Kitteh Has Somethin to Say About TV and Jan 6 Committee and Previous...
Hai, My name is Oliver and I has only been here since Febuary when I was born in a clozet. I has been watching these tv pictures whenever my human has them on. I can’t take my eyes off the screen. I...
View ArticleThe Model is Chile, Folks
Anyone who has read The Shock Doctrine should be familiar with these concepts. Essentially creating turmoil, economic and otherwise helps those who have a plan to take advantage of it. In the 1970s...
View ArticleIt's Real Simple--Trump Thinks He "Owns" the Republican Party
The party, and its’ voters are HIS asset, and alternative Republican leaders will have to claw it away from his cold dead hand. This is how he thinks. He will use anything to prop up his image and his...
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A New Torquemada Waiting in the Wings
He Will Take It.Don’t think for a moment that when given the opportunity, the unspeakable won’t happen in a hurry. You can EXPECT this Spanish Inquisition. Religious fanatics have NO PLACE in a...
View Article78% of Republicans Is One in Five Americans
SO, I saw the headline this morning that 78% of Republicans think Trump 47 would be better than Trump 45. As usual, the initial personal impact is WTF? Who are these people? After The Big Lie, J6, the...
View ArticleNO MERCY, NO DEALS
Nixon and Kissinger committed TREASON when they torpedoed peace negotiations with North Vietnam in 1968. Reagan & Co. committed it again when they negotiated with Iran about keeping the hostages...
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