(A flier for a college course about my younger days. Kind of tripped me out.) You’re gonna study the 60s? First, ‘oh, good.’ The 60s were everything you could hope for in this world. Probably more. They were just wonderful. Enjoy them vicariously and recreate as much of them as you can, or as seems … More On studying the 60s
A bit under 20 years ago the US and Brits invaded Iraq, a country a little smaller than Texas. Our combined invasion force was about 195,000 which massed openly in a neighboring nation. The justification, mistaken at best, was that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction which they might use against the innocent or against … More I heard the news today, oh boy
Back in the mid-90s I spent two years on and off in Bosnia where there had just been a war. Quick review: in about 1993 a First World Country slipped into genocide in a matter of weeks, goaded by flagrant racist propaganda on TV…. an advanced multi-ethnic European country with push-button telephones, color TV, automobile … More Fragile
(My daughter, who was not quite four years old at the time, asked me recently to talk about the 1968 Chicago convention for her children who are living thru this new awful time now.) On the cab ride in from Midway airport we passed sandbagged machine gun nests on the University of Chicago campus. That … More Chicago, August, 1968
What we Democrats lack is thugs. We’ve got everything else we need. There are plenty of us and the technology is fine. Money? No problem. Issues? Don’t even start. On paper, we win. On the streets, not so much. What we need is muscle. Seasoned, scared, hardened, tough, ruthless. Back then there was a fight. … More Leak This
Much of the discussion of politics and policy — on the left mostly, because the the right is just nasty — much of the talk just seems so naive…. foolish. The arguments that Pelosi should do this or Obama is a fake or a failure seem informed by some fantasy of what managing power is … More Making Power
Tom DeVries 