The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms…" ~ George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" (1946)...
Exceptionalism, triumphalism, chauvinism. These characteristics define most empires, including, like it or not, these United States. The sequence matters. A people and national government that fancies itself exceptional – an example for the rest of the world – is apt...
"Red" (Morgan Freeman): "Hope is a dangerous thing my friend, it can kill a man…" Andy (Tim Robbins): "Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." ~ The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Two...
On the one hand, many Americans have nothing but time on their hands. With folks out of work, working from home, and socially quarantined, there’s never been a better time to make a sizable dent in their book queues and catch up on the sort of analytical articles...
Look, I’m no doctor; not a scientist; certainly no expert in epidemiology. So I’ve kept silent, for the most part, on the Coronavirus. Being more than a little out of my depth on the subject, I’ll continue to do so. Nonetheless, it is striking how the disease outbreak...
Cash rules everything around me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money, dollar dollar bill, y’all! So rhymed Method Man, of the famed New York hip hop collective Wu Tang Clan, in 1993. Underprivileged denizens of a particularly rough and tumble, if forgotten, slice of my own...
This article originally appeared at TruthDig. “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” Everyone who enters the gate at West Point Military Academy must memorize and recite these words on their first day. Failure to follow that protocol,...
Happy Afghan War surrender day, fellas! So began my flippant group text yesterday – which was actually regarding a whole other topic – with the nine lieutenants who worked "for" me when I commanded a cavalry troop in Southern Afghanistan. Now these guys,...
"WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks." ~ Donald Trump, October 10 2016, Wilkes-Barre, PA "This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove." ~ Donald Trump, October 31, 2016 in Warren, MI Back in the day, not so long ago, The Donald loved him some WikiLeaks. He said so on at...
Tune in to Episode#46 of the SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction) show, folks – at least those (few) who still care about America’s longest, ongoing, war. The latest installment just dropped, and I promise it’s a gem: replete with the all...
