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September 1, 2010
 By this time it's fair to say that Mr. Obama is not merely a right of center politician, but a right-winger. There's nothing "centrist" about him. I wonder, though, whether it's becoming fair to say that he's a Manchurian Candidate, a plant, extreme in his support of the establishment which, by definition, is an oligarchic dictatorship? One sees the dawning recognition — from Harry Shearer ("President Obama speaks to New Orleans From Planet Zarg") to David Letterman ("He'll have plenty of time for vacations when his one term is up") — the comedians being, as usual, ahead of the curve. And I can't imagine that Mr. Obama's speech last night impressed anybody except, of course, his courtiers in Versailles on the Potomac.
August 26, 2010
 As a little kid in the Belgian Congo I drank a lot of tonic water. I don't know what brands, or how it was made, but I've had a taste for tonic water ever since. The problem is, most tonic waters — one might say all major brands — are crap. I seem to remember that as a teenager there were some here in the States that weren't too bad, but now, Blech! So the other day I was shopping in the new Whole Foods near here and noticed a brand I hadn't seen before: Fever-Tree. It's hideously expensive but I figured, what the hell, and tried some. It's great!! Out of this world great!! A real thirst quencher. And, to be honest, the 200 ml bottles are a good size. Most highly recommended.
August 25, 2010
 According to yesterday's New York Times Pakistan's floods are affecting the U.S. supply lines into Afghanistan. Well, yeah... I'd been looking at maps recently to try to figure what might be going on, and I've also noticed that until now there haven't been reports in the mainstream press. My guess is that the military has been discouraging reporters from writing up the story — note that Carlotta Gall's piece doesn't say a word about how constrained supplies to Afghanistan might affect operations. Of course, it will.
August 22, 2010
 Over at Common Dreams yesterday, Gwynne Dyer has a very thoughtful piece about Pakistan's water problems. Not the floods, but chronic and sure to become worse water shortages. A quick Google search turns up similar pieces here, here, here, and here. I hadn't realized how serious the situation already is, or that India and Pakistan are squaring off over proposed Indian dams. Grim. On my mental scorecard I'm upping the odds that Pakistan may fall apart in the medium term.
August 17, 2010
 To be honest, I don't give a damn if Muslims build a mosque near ground zero. Even if I didn't think that 9/11 was an inside job it wouldn't bother me. Faith works in mysterious ways. If some Muslims want a mosque in lower Manhattan, well, OK. Would that be the same as the Germans building a monument to fallen Nazi soldiers at Omaha Beach? No, not by a long shot. Are Muslims irrelevant in today's American society, such that they should be steamrolled whenever politically convenient? No, and, by the way, have you checked your local hospital for Muslim physicians lately? So, what's up with President Twinkie's tap dance, and Harry Reid's disgracing himself? Skittish, and pathetic!
August 15, 2010
 Fifteen years ago, or thereabouts, when I was on the other side of interviews, I had to get used to the idea that sometimes, when I'd taped an interview, the media person who'd asked for it might not use it. I recall, in particular, many times being interviewed by Andrea Mitchell up at NBC's studio in northwest DC (not far from me), but her later using maybe only one out of four or one out of five of them. I never asked for, and never got, a good explanation of why sometimes interviews don't get used, but over the years of producing the EP podcast I've learned that not all interviews should be broadcast, or webcast, or whatever it is that one calls it.
Continue reading "Spiked"...
August 14, 2010
 It's amusing to watch Keith Olbermann's artificial outrage against those who question birthright citizenship. And the more sincere outrage of other, non-professional leftists. The meaning of the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment — if they stopped for a moment to think about it — did not, when it was ratified in 1868, absolutely and unambiguously allow birthright citizenship and, therefore, the Amendment's commonly accepted meaning having changed over time, those who defend birthright citizenship must be prepared to argue why their reading of the 14th Amendment is correct. Simply saying "the meaning of the words is obvious" begs the argument.
Continue reading "Further Parsing "Birthright""...
August 9, 2010
 Bread and butter pickles. Yum! Good on sandwiches. Good as sides with things like hot dogs. For that matter, good on hamburgers. I suppose that the industrious among us make their own, no doubt deliciously. But in the supermarket it ain't easy to find exceptional bread and butter pickles. Most brands — including organics — taste pretty much the same. Bland. Then there's McCutcheon's. Their bread and butter pickles have both taste and snap. Zesty. Practically perfect. If you're in the DC area there's a good chance you can find McCutcheon's in a local store as their factory is in Frederick, Maryland; probably they distribute to a wider region, I don't know. Otherwise you could order from their website, which is, well, antique. I recommend their bread and butter pickles without reservation but other McCutcheon's products can be uneven. If you order a variety of samples on impulse you're on your own.
August 5, 2010
 In resisting birthright citizenship reform the Democrats have jumped the shark. Except, obviously, for Hispanics, most people understand and disapprove of "anchor babies." At the same time, most people don't understand the 14th Amendment and are hopelessly confused about the constitutional issues at stake. Republicans, betraying their chronic lack of intellectual firepower, are pushing for an Amendment to the 14th Amendment, which is constitutional overkill when simple legislation could provide a fair solution. Charitably, one might ascribe an abundance of caution to the Republican strategy except that it's pretty clear few of them have bothered to read through the relevant texts. Yes, it's a chore, but that's what legal precedent is all about.
Continue reading "Birthright Ballyhoo"...
August 4, 2010
 By all accounts pizza originated in Naples. In 1889 the Neapolitans added cheese, and in 1905 the pizza pie crossed the Atlantic, with Lombardi's opening in Manhattan. For a foodstuff so potentially delicious it's a relatively simple recipe — you'd think that restaurants usually get it right. But, no... it's impossible, for example, to find a good pizza in the Washington DC area.
Continue reading "Some Observations About Pizza"...
 It isn't to be found among the top stories of the New York Times, although, to its credit, the Washington Post has noticed. From outward appearances neither the State Department nor the Pentagon have thought much about its ramifications. But floods in Pakistan are a huge deal, extremely relevant to whatever it is that the U.S. wants to accomplish over there. Our non-provision of substantial emergency aid could well have lasting consequences for the stability of Pakistan's government.
 There's no doubt that over the past ten years the U.S. has been closer to launching a war against Iran at certain times than at others. But my sense of it is that the military and intelligence communities now share a reasonably strong consensus that such a war would be an unmitigated disaster. And I would guess that senior policymakers continue to make that clear to Israel whenever necessary. My sources, to be honest, are pretty much non-existent, but my instincts about such things have always been excellent, and I trust them. Thus I find it disappointing, to say the least, when I see VIPS "warning" for the umpty-umpth time about an imminent war with Iran. Having been consistently wrong on that score for so many years, might VIPS not reconsider some of their speculative starting points? Could they not acknowledge, by now, that crying wolf is not helpful?
July 28, 2010
 When I was a teenager in Paris I used to prowl around used book stores for interesting stuff. At one point I found and bought a pamphlet from the mid-nineteenth century, in French, written for field anthropologists; it being essentially a very long list of suggested questions for the natives (I'm pretty sure I've still got it in a box somewhere in the attic). One chapter had to do with how natives trade, with questions such as 'do you leave your trade goods under the banyan tree at night, and recover traded articles the next day?' — assuming that native trading partners might well be too bashful to meet face to face. This is not, we should be absolutely clear, a model for how contemporary leaks pertaining to U.S. national security take place.
Continue reading "Of Leaks and Sources"...
July 27, 2010
 For those, like me, who infinitely regret the demise of Patrick O'Brian, and who, like me (English majors may snicker), had also somehow managed to overlook The Diary of Samuel Pepys , good news! The Diary, which predates the Aubrey-Maturin era by about 140 years, concerns itself in no small part with the nautical world. Pepys, indeed, was the driving force in the modernization of the Royal Navy, a fact of which I had been completely unaware. But the Diary is much more — a rich, unvarnished, astonishingly real window into life in Britain of 350 years ago — and no wonder it's considered a classic. A perfect summer reading antidote to the modern world!
July 26, 2010
 On balance I think it's a good thing that Wikileaks made public 91,000 documents in its 'Afghan War Diaries.' Though I doubt that there's much in there that we didn't already know, in general terms if not in the specifics, having this material available allows us to confirm a number of suppositions. Afghan resistance fighters, for example, are using relatively advanced heat seeking anti-aircraft missiles. And Pakistan's ISI is more involved in supporting the Afghan resistance than the administration has wanted to acknowledge. Connect the dots, you get back to the India-Pakistan relationship. Without resolving their disputes, it's difficult to see how you suppress their proxies in Afghanistan... In any case, most of what the administration doesn't want public from these 'Diaries' constitutes a political embarrassment, not a security risk. There's a separate question of what happens to all those whose names appear in the documents — Americans, contractors, Afghans, etc. — but I suppose they're just collateral damage. In terms of advancing the public debate, overall, this is a significant milestone, simplifying, as it does, the questions that mainstream 'journalists' need to ask. On balance, a good thing. But what really interests me is, who leaked?
Continue reading "The Curious Case of Wikileaks"...
July 24, 2010
 The U.S. Constitution does not define citizenship. It was less an oversight than a concession to slavery that the process of defining American citizenship had to wait until after the Civil War, when the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, declared "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." In terms of Constitutional Amendments, up to the present, that's all that there is; thus, the definition of citizenship remains less than entirely clear. Though over the years the Supreme Court has ruled on a number of cases regarding citizenship issues, the conventional wisdom, that the Court has determined that a person becomes a citizen at the time of birth in the U.S., is not exactly true. The Court has never explicitly said, for example, whether or not, under the 14th Amendment, the children of illegal aliens are citizens. The closest the Court came was in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, in 1898, but in that case the question involved becoming a citizen at birth when the parents were in the country legally. Moreover, apart from the parents' legal status, additional extenuating circumstances not considered in Wong could conceivably apply. To put it bluntly, appropriate laws defining American citizenship have never been written, nor tested in court.
Continue reading "The Value of Citizenship"...
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August 27, 2010
 It's one of those things that everybody seems to know but nobody puts into words, until somebody does. Jonathan Simon, in his award winning book Governing Through Crime, observes that American ideas about criminal justice are not only out of kilter but have metastasized into almost every area of life. We've become terrified of our own shadows. The policy consequences are foolish, undemocratic, unfair and wasteful. We should be ashamed. We know better. Total runtime an hour and two minutes. Pray for small miracles.
August 20, 2010
 Anybody in the U.S. who wants higher education should be able to have it. Preferably, for free. But that's not how the system works... What a waste! Nevertheless, good things are happening. For some inspiration from the community college level I turned to the maverick educator Wick Sloane. God bless 'im! Total runtime fifty one minutes. Live charitably.
August 13, 2010
 Republocrats. Demicans. It adds up to Oligarchy. The wealthy have overtly seized control of the U.S. They're not of a mind to share the spoils. What to do? Nobody seems to know... Nevertheless, it helps to talk about the problem. And the more people who rattle their chains the better. Rick MacArthur, publisher of Harper's, tells it like it is. Total runtime fifty two minutes. The flame of liberty never dies.
August 6, 2010
 The Gods on Mount Olympus don't rule the world. Science does. But Plato couldn't say that in ancient Greece without a good chance of being put to death. So Plato did a sensible thing: he hid his secret, using musical codes, inside his already magnificent philosophical construction, a philosophy that became the cornerstone of western thought. Some of his contemporaries were privy to his secret knowledge but over the centuries it was lost. Rediscovered recently by Dr. Jay Kennedy, Plato's faith in science sheds new light on the origins of modernity. Total runtime forty minutes. Mysticism and logic ring free. ♪
July 30, 2010
 Voters in Ohio's second congressional district have a real choice: the Democrat, Surya "Chili" Yalamanchili, wants to create jobs and is on the side of the workers, while his opponent, incumbent Republican Jean Schmidt, apparently has no policy views whatsoever except unconditional support for the rich. It's a Republican leaning district that in ordinary times could be counted on to grovel before the powers that be, but these aren't ordinary times. Chili has a real chance, and with your help might be able to pull off a surprise upset. Total runtime an hour and six minutes. If you can, please donate to Chili's campaign and/or volunteer!
July 23, 2010
 American culture has lost an essential chthonic connection with the soil. Restoring it requires rethinking conventional agricultural practices — practices, in any case, for many additional reasons, unsuited for the modern world. Dare we say we're on the cusp of an organic revolution? To get some of the story from a leading soil scientist I turned to Dr. John P. Reganold. A farsighted optimist, John points the way home. Total runtime an hour and seventeen minutes. Listen while gardening. ☺
July 16, 2010
 Harkening back to an earlier age, the prolific and brilliant author and anthologist Michael Sims helps us to understand science, natural history, literature, and all manner of other things. A Renaissance man. In Dracula's Guest he explores through Victorian eyes the universal human fear of the dark. The fact is, we love to experience that fear, within limits. It's a decadent fancy, but it's also probably in part a primordial urge to venture into the unknown. As always, great fun talking with Michael. Total runtime forty three minutes. “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come...”
July 9, 2010
 The U.S. government should not murder people abroad. A simple enough rule, yet in a bizarre, barbaric, and cold-blooded fashion Washington now not only claims the right to murder anyone it wants, anywhere it wants, abroad, including American citizens, but actively carries out such intent with drone missile strikes. Captain Ahab channeling Lord of the Flies could not have devised a more insensible policy. To talk about the legal issues I turned to Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions. Thank you, Philip! Total runtime thirty five minutes. International law isn't made to be broken.
July 2, 2010
 Magical thinking drives the Neocons' perpetual efforts to start a war with Iran. Politicians, by and large, fail to apprehend the danger. If it weren't for analysts like Dr. Thomas Fingar — and many others — who have held the line on explaining the real costs of war, we would by now be well and truly screwed. Here, Tom and I talk about Iran, North Korea, and the reorganization of the intelligence community. The latter seemingly esoteric except that in certain ways it's our first (and maybe best) line of defense. Total runtime an hour and seventeen minutes. Audi alteram partem.
June 25, 2010
 We tell ourselves that humans are sentient animals. Yet here in the U.S. our politics seem rather more directed by delusion, or denial, than reason. Collectively, we not only do not know that our political system does not produce democratic results, we pretend the results are democratic no matter how fundamentally unfair they may be. Money rules. Why is that? And why can't we imagine a better way of doing things that gives people health care, pensions, education, job security with decent wages — and all the rest? To talk about such things I turned to the brilliant sociologist Dr. Charles Derber. He explains that not only is radical change a real possibility, but that it's happened regularly throughout American history. So there's hope. Total runtime fifty six minutes. Enjoy!
June 18, 2010
 To be honest, the shrimp fishermen don't matter. The Gulf coast tourist traps don't matter. The economic effects of the spill. Don't matter. It's not about the money. What matters is that we're destroying the environment, killing countless innocent creatures. I keep hoping things may not be quite as bad as they seem, but I keep worrying that in fact they're much, much worse. To try to make sense of this part of the story I turned to Dr. Jeffrey Short, one of the world's top experts on the environmental effects of oil. It was very kind of Jeff to take time in the midst of the crisis to talk with me — I really appreciate it. Total runtime half an hour. God forgive us!
June 11, 2010
 If morality were only about rules then our conceptions of the Deity would become the equivalent of a giant computer in the sky. But morality is both about rules and about judging things for oneself. Thus it gets tricky when trying to train people to be responsible moral agents. Dick Couch has the right idea that more training in moral decision-making should be provided to our uniformed military personnel — and particularly to elite special forces — but how best to do that remains, I think, an open question. It was an honor and a pleasure to talk with Dick, and I much appreciate his willingness to put up with my grouchy questions. Total runtime fifty five minutes. Nosce te ipsum.
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