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"Issues"
Here is my sincere description of what’s in it, based on actually reading it, carefully, from start to finish.
VOLUME I: RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE AND THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN Russian Interference was “sweeping and systematic”
First, and most importantly, “The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.” There were two components […]
Yesterday a former CIA colleague who rose to a very senior position at CIA and has spent forty years watching the Kremlin, the KGB, and the FSB reached out to me. He’s been reading what I and my Facebook “commentariat” have been saying of late, and felt compelled to offer some thoughts on the controversy that is bubbling over […]
As I watched the final night of the Republican convention, I experienced a weird emotional ride. First there was Ivanka Trump, undeniably intelligent, poised, articulate — and apparently compassionate, thoughtful, and “aware”. She did a spectacular job introducing Donald Trump — so spectacular that I was thoroughly softened up and open-minded to Trump as he […]
There is something darkly profound going on in America political life and discourse. The rise of Donald Trump is, I’m beginning to think, more than a political shift. It’s a deeper cultural and psychological shift that is the logical outcome of the polarization and gridlock that has gripped our democracy ever since the emergence of […]
My all-time favorite movie is in the game for the 2016 election. Can’t stand Trump. Hate Hillary? Vote for President Merkin Muffley, played by my namesake, Peter Sellers . . . .who was Merkin Muffley. Where do I begin? Well, we’re talking about Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) […]
At latest count 24 states, including one with a democratic governor, have declared they will not host Syrian refugees. Why? Because one of the terrorists who attacked this past weekend in Paris apparently posed as a Syrian refugee. Am I the only one who just feels sickened at the lack of compassion and lack of […]
One of the central features of the current impasse over a government shutdown is the fact that it has been John Boeher’s refusal to let a “clean CR” come up for a vote that has stymied the situation in Congress. If such a CR with no Obamacare attachments were put to a vote in the […]
A couple of my blogging buddies are extremely excited about two developments this week . First, they love Eric Holder’s address to the American Bar Association in which he signaled a new, more sane approach to the sentencing of low level drug offenders after decades of draconian mandatory minimums that caused the US prison population […]
It isn’t that often that Ethiopia makes it into the news these days — and now when it does, it’s not for the right reasons. I spent two years of my life in Addis Ababa and the hinterlands of Ethiopia at a time when the country was Africa’s equivalent to Cuba — a hardline communist […]
Rolfo “Julius” Dogillo will get to spend Christmas with his father in the Philippines — something he might not have been able to do if it hadn’t been for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Guam and TakeCare Insurance Company.
Yesterday morning TakeCare donated $7,500 to fund 15-year-old Dogillo and his family’s trip to the Philippines where he […]
Bloomberg’s William Psesek writes today about the Philippines and althoug his headline is a bit of a downer, the article overall has some good points. The headline? “Philippine Soap Opera is a Downer”. The soap opera being referenced, of course, is the arrest of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the ongoing struggle over her […]
I put this out there once before but I’m going to do it again because every time I read this I get pretty seriously cranky. This is a description of Manila from Gary Allen Poole’s biography “Pacman: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao”:
“…Manila, the decaying capital of the Philippines. It’s one of Southeast Asia’s […]
In an annual corruption survey carried out by the group Transparency International, the Philippines has moved up from 134 out of 183 countries rated last year, to 129th. In Asia, the Philippines ranked 25th out of 35. While the gains are modest, the trend is regarded as significant and reflects improved perceptions of the Philippines […]
WELL, I DECIDED TO RETIRE THIS PAGE BECAUSE, THANK GOD, THEY CAME OUT WITH THE REAL TRAILER AND IT LOOKS GOOD.
VISIT THE JOHN CARTER FILES FOR MORE ON THIS.
Bad news for the humble gecko, the nocturnal lizard that specializes in wall climbing and is considered good luck in the Philippines and elsewhere. The Washington Post is reporting that there is a booming trade in geckos and that the going black market rate in the Philippines for an 11 oz gecko lizard is $1,160 […]
It took him a couple of weeks to come out with it, but LA times boxing writer Lance Pugmire has written an excellent article on the dilemma of how to score a close boxing match such as the Pacquiao-Marquez III fight on November 12. Pugmire explores the difference in effect between watching a bout on […]
It’s a sad day indeed when one of the very, very greatest icons of American sport, 84 year old Joe Paterno, renowned not only as the winningest coach of all time but also honored for running one the cleanest programs of the country, looks likely to be forced into retirement if not worse by the […]
Paul Rich concludes it is the “march of demographics” that so threaten the white male ruling class that as to turn the Republican party into “the party of angry old white men.”
CNN just showed a poll in which 48% of Americans are angry with Congress in general over the gridlock, with only 11% blaming Republicans only and 9% blaming Republicans only. Will this message ever actually get through to those in Congress?
