It is a good thing to be out of the loop; that’s what a vacation is for. Recently I attended an invitational croquet tournament in the New York area. Between playing and running off to various social activities, there was no time left to think about the problems of the wider world. It helped that I did not have a … [Read More]

In case anyone out there is wondering what the Avatar—that scary sculpture headlining this blog—is suppose to signify, I can tell you. It is a photo which I took of a plaque affixed to a wall on the second floor of the inner courtyard of the Ducal Palace in Venice. The purpose of the plaque—a Bocca de Leone, the lion’s mouth—was … [Read More]

When it comes to right and wrong, let’s throw out the labels “conservative” and “liberal”. These terms have been denuded of meaning. Thanks to those pushy “neoconservatives” and their prominence in recent years, the average person is understandably confused as to what a genuine conservative is. The average person is apt to think that clowns such as Rush Limbaugh and Bill … [Read More]

I was visiting someone in the hospital last night, so I was forced to sit there and watch the Larry King interview with Richard Cheney. Normally, I don’t watch a speech or interview given by either Cheney or his marionette, G.W. First, it is infuriating. Second, it’s just a complete waste of time. These folks do not have an ounce of … [Read More]

The administration of POTUS 43 is imploding, rudderless, out of control, and beyond reach. Anything can happen now, and most of it will be bad. And yet, the overall situation is not primarily Bush’s fault. You cannot hold an irresponsible, ill-prepared person responsible for his actions. Bush Jr. was selected by the Republican Establishment, then programmed and utilized as a front … [Read More]

A very good friend of mine, an older woman but not old, is what you might call a Country Club Republican. She is not an "intellectual" or a rigorously logical person. On the other hand, she is not a stupid or an uncultured individual. To the contrary, she attends the Opera at Lincoln Center, a world about which I know very … [Read More]

There is a nasty situation in croquet, the six-wicket American version, in which you can find yourself 3-ball dead. When this happens, your opponent has a big advantage. He is the beneficiary of your mistakes. He did not put you there; you did it to yourself. The ball which is 3-ball dead is completely ineffective, and the other side can shoot … [Read More]

Does the “Scooter” Libby commutation story have legs? Will it make any real difference in terms of bringing back a modicum of integrity and honesty to the capital of the world’s last standing “Superpower”? Or is it just another bump in the road for an Administration which is now routinely being blasted as the worst Presidency in America’s history? True, Democrats … [Read More]

Since we last addressed the topic, Irving “Scooter” Libby was assigned a federal prison number. It certainly looked like he was headed for a Federal correctional facility, all because he refused to tell the truth about what was happening inside the Cheney Regency in the aftermath of “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. But now—surprise! surprise!—Scooter has just been handed a stay-out-of-jail card by … [Read More]

It’s out of control, all right. Not just the the hijacked governance of the world’s "lone surviving Superpower"—but the entire social and intellectual landscape of America. We are indeed in uncharted territory. On the one hand, we have to tolerate the intolerable, no-limits megalomania of Dick Cheney along with the amazing vacuity of his junior partner, G.W. Bush, as they lead … [Read More]