This explains so much. Foreign Policy magazine, that impressive and deep-looking tome that stands out on magazine stands because it looks, well, really serious, has published a list of the most important “Global Thinkers” in the world today. Since I’m not a regular reader, I don’t know if this is an annual list, like the […]
Archive | November, 2012
Tournament of Rock IV: the Meat Loaf pod
The results are in: pod 15 saw Stevie Nicks going all Iron Man on Ozzy and the rest of the competitors, really inflicting a beatdown that we didn’t see coming. Where are all the Ozzy fans, dude? In any case, Stevie moves on to the Sweet 16. Now we arrive at pod 16, our final […]
S&R Poetry: “Crepuscule,” by Adam Sirgany
In the twilight of the night, in the rain-fog at summer’s edge, when the skunk comes amble-burrowing in the compost heap for scraps of marrow to deep to suck from bone, when the rain comes on the cement porch steps, a-pat-it a-pa-tit a-pat-it, when the skunk runs rumba to its rhythm and off into the […]
Can somebody ‘splain to me how the heck Klout works?
I have a Klout account. If you don’t know about Klout, it’s basically a new, high-tech way of stroking your ego and keeping track of how important you are. And I am all about that. Problem is, I can’t figure out how it works. Oh, I get the basic concept: the more people like and follow […]
Afghan military killings of American troops underscores absurdity of our Afghan adventure
Nothing is sadder than dying at the hands of those you’re sworn to protect. In an article for the Los Angeles Times, David Zucchino writes about the incident at Kabul International Airport in April 2011 when an Afghan Air Force colonel killed nine Americans. The nine killings remain the single deadliest incident among insider attacks […]
Getting ready for the next disaster
One of the many surprises resulting from the carnage inflicted by Hurricane Sandy was how ill-prepared the US northeast—well, the entire US East Coast, for that matter—was in terms of defending what passes for its infrastructure. New York City has yet to take any initiative whatsoever on any plan to deal with rising oceans from […]
An open letter to former Colorado football coach Bill McCartney: STFU
On Sunday, the University of Colorado fired head football coach Jon Embree after two seasons. Reaction has been mixed and at times heated. Some point to the results, noting not only the 4-21 record but also suggesting that the program was actually regressing. Others argued that Embree inherited a dumpster fire from previous coach Dan […]
Annals of Corporate Citizenship, #41,244.
Any guesses how corporate America is preparing for the impact of the resolution of the negotiations currently in the works on resolving the horribly- (and inaccurately-) named “fiscal cliff?” Well, if you guessed that there was a fire sale on giving money to shareholders before there are any changes to the current tax code, you’d […]
A company’s right to lie?
Yesterday federal District Court Judge Gladys Kessler issued a ruling requiring tobacco companies to use their own revenues to inform the public that they have lied about the dangers of tobacco use: “Defendants have known many of these facts for at least 50 years or more. Despite that knowledge, they have consistently, repeatedly and with […]
I rafted the Nile
Last weekend, I went white water rafting on Uganda’s Nile River. Fear filled my bones for days leading up to the trip, along with most of the five-hour voyage down the mighty waterway. But, I refused to leave Africa without exploring this historically famous river. So, I did it. I rafted the Nile. White water […]
Tournament of Rock IV: the Stevie Nicks pod
And order is restored: after a couple of notable upsets, #13 seed Def Leppard rallied to win pod 14 after falling behind Toto and The Beach Boys early. Congrats, and we’ll see them in the Sweet 16. Moving on to pod 15, where our highest seeded female artist seeks to weave her formulaic gypsy magic […]
Private lives, public surveillance
Whether people think about this election’s hot button issues in this framework or not, many of our country’s so-called “social issues” are issues of privacy. While lawmakers fought over the economic and religious implications of hot topics like gay marriage, abortion, health care and cybersecurity, they were essentially deciding what level of privacy Americans should […]
Iron Dome’s effectiveness is not an argument for missile defense
It’s one thing to intercept a Hamas rocket, another to shoot down an inter-continental ballistic missile. The success of Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, which has intercepted 80 to 90 percent of the rockets launched from Gaza, is viewed by many as a cause for celebration. Worse, it’s being used as evidence that missile defense […]
Telling History vs. Making Art: Gods & Jacksons
Part four in a series. One of my favorite places to work at Fredericksburg & Spostylvania National Military Park is the Stonewall Jackson Shrine, the small plantation office building where the Confederate general died. It’s a story I love so much that I wrote a book about it, The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson. But no book […]
Bringing down the curtains
Most people don’t realize that George Washington, “Father of Our Country,” was a devoté of architecture and interior design. We tend to think of him crossing the Delaware, not dressing windows. “How extremely important this was to him, the extent of his esthetic sense, few people ever realized,” historian David McCullough has noted. “Only a […]
Admin using bad info for drone strikes like it did for detainees
Just like it did in Afghanistan and Iraq, the CIA and U.S. military act on bad intel when designating targets for drone attacks. As when the United States greased the skids for war with Iraq, it’s ratcheting up tensions with Iran by disseminating misinformation about nuclear weapons. The United States has also failed to learn […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- “Where Girls Grow Strong” – and Boy Scouts follow
- Atheists in heaven? Vatican spin machine leaps into action
- I-5 bridge collapse: reflecting on our crumbling infrastructure
- UPDATED: Pope Francis says atheists can go to heaven: Sweet Jesus! The College of Cardinals done elected a hippie
- Magic Hat vs. West Sixth brewhaha: will MH win the battle that costs them the war?
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
