War, Politics, and Life by Bruce Maulden
Sunshine with a nice, warm breeze this Wednesday morning on California’s north coast — another wonder day, with maybe a ‘Slight Chance Rain‘ tomorrow night and into Friday, but not much expected. Weather the day… And of course, today is another ‘4-20’ episode, code for inhaling marijuana — as says Steve Capper, one of the…
Damp-fog of a marine layer this Monday afternoon, as bright, clear sunshine much earlier has been replaced by deep-gray, amplified in muffled tones. Beyond ‘Fat Tony’ dying and the ensuing GOP cluster-crazy over President Obama’s constitutional rights, was a truth-chime from The Donald among the chaos of last Saturday night’s Republican debate: “Obviously, the war…
Sunshine through the clouds this early Thursday on California’s north coast, all tempered by a sharp, chilly wind. A small respite from the rain, with just ‘a chance’ the next few days. Nothing is guaranteed, though. Except maybe Iraq — supposedly the cradle of civilization is a nightmare (via USAToday): ‘Iraq said Tuesday it is…
One of few military people who had much-more sense than his peers was the late Gen. William Odom, who in 2005 way-understated the horror: ‘“The invasion of Iraq may well turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in American history.”‘ Odom, who died in 2008, couldn’t fully grasp a decade ago how intense, and widespread…
In climate news, the big-story is COP21, the UN talks starting Monday in Paris. Despite the reality, a lot of the gloss is greased oratory: “The stars are more aligned right now to reach agreement than I have ever seen them,” U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern told reporters last week. “We are…
Always just issue Mark Twain’s famous little speech on Thanksgiving, which seems to sum-up the ritual: “Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for–annually, not oftener–if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the…
Ugly, dumb-ass memory: Jeb! during the second GOP debate in September: ‘“You know what? As it relates to my brother, there is one thing I know for sure: He kept us safe. I don’t know if you remember, Donald. Do you remember the rubble? Do you remember the firefighter with his arms around him? He…
Overcast a bit and cold this Wednesday morning on California’s north coast, sunshine showing itself often, but not enough. A slight chance of rain (about 15 percent), but doesn’t really look it. Today is Veterans Day, supposedly a time set aside to honor those who are serving/have served in the US armed forces. However, in…
Overcast with occasionally some faded-yellow sunlight peeking through this Thursday morning on California’s north coast, an environment corresponding to a ‘slight chance‘ of wetness forecast for today, with a supposedly true rainstorm slated for Sunday. Surreal image at the right is an enlightened Dick Cheney, of course, one of the greatest living villain-assholes of our…
Another news-cycle episode in the never-ending horror-subject of Iraq came with the death announced yesterday of Ahmed Chalabi, the grifter who played the US public for the 2003 invasion. Media coverage on Chalabi dying has mostly painted him as the guy who ‘pushed‘ America into the Iraqi war, though, in reality he was just a…
