Who could have seen this coming? The Washington Post has released, with great fanfare, “The Afghanistan Papers”, a massive study documenting what a massive disaster the War in Afghanistan has been. It’s too bad, however, that the Post has “forgotten” how earnestly it pushed that misbegotten war, as recently as August of this year, something…
Author: Alan Vanneman
Some conservatives starting to show some signs of some capacity for self-awareness and self-criticism. This is encouraging! Somewhat!
The recent, totally unsurprising news that President Donald Trump is wont to discuss official business in a totally unprofessional way over totally unsecured private cellphones that could be easily monitored by the intelligence services of unfriendly nations, done on purpose, moreover, so that his staff won’t know what he’s been up to, has been met…
Trump’s grotesque perversions of American foreign policy to ensure his own re-election probably not that big a deal, Ross Douthat explains
Yeah, sure, Donald Trump is awful, but he’s probably not that awful, you know? You know? And even if he is, well, who cares? You’ve got money in your pocket and the sun is shining, isn’t it? Let those Beltway blowhards blow as hard as they please, getting all hot and bothered because Donald Trump…
Round Midnight
A nice arrangement delivered by what might be a German high school or college band, posted by “aw DC” Misterious! Need more Monk? Of course you do, Go to Mostly Monk
Shorter Admiral McRaven: Will invade foreign countries for food
Okay, that should be “Will invade foreign countries for rank and appropriations” but Literature R Us puts snark over accuracy every time. What is indisputable is that retired Admiral William McRaven is shit fit petrified that drunken Donald Trump might actually knock over the punchbowl that has, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, ladled…
Samantha Power and the art of looking away
(Editor’s note. Sometimes I write ‘em short, and sometimes I can’t shut up. This is one of the latter occasions.) Several hundred news cycles ago, Samantha Power’s autobiography/memoir The Education of an Idealist was in the news. Well, I am nothing if not slow, so I am just getting caught up with Samantha, who really…
BE THANKFUL! (Be thankful Literature R Us will not think of a cutesy, Literature R Us related reason for you to be thankful. Be thankful for your own damn self.)
Donald Trump is destroying the U.S. military. Republicans don’t care.
Former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer wrote in his resignation letter to President Trump the following: The rule of law is what sets us apart from our adversaries. Good order and discipline is what has enabled our victory against foreign tyranny time and again, from Captain Lawrence’s famous order ‘Don’t Give up the Ship,’ to the…
Young people different from old people, old man discovers
I was recently at a rest stop on an interstate, one of the large ones that contain half a dozen fast food outfits, and even a Starbucks for us la-di-da types. The place was swarming with young people, at least a hundred of them, almost all of them white and all of them wearing blue…
Eric Dolphy—“Round Midnight”
No video, but plenty of Eric, which more than makes up for it. From the 1961 album, Ezz-thetic, by George Russell. After some pseudo-intense, “far out” introductory noises, Eric takes over. Russell on piano, Don Ellis, trumpet, Dave Baker, trombone, Steve Swallow, bass. and Joe Hunt, drums. Posted by cooljazzr