Helsinki Summit Proves to be the Height of Scandal

This afternoon, I had a consultation with Dr. Runkkari Paskanaama, Special Attaché for Political Affairs at the Embassy of Finland here in Washington. He brought a bottle of Lakka, the Finnish Lapponia Cloudberry liqueur, which isn’t easy to find in DC. “From the embassy’s own stock,” he confided as he placed it on the coffee… Continue reading Helsinki Summit Proves to be the Height of Scandal

Two Billion Facebook Users Can’t be Wrong – But They Sure Can Be Clueless

As regular readers of this Web log are well aware, my dear sister Rose occasionally makes it known that she would like me to take her out to lunch. The purpose of these repasts is ostensibly to catch up with one another on family affairs – but the fact that it allows her to get… Continue reading Two Billion Facebook Users Can’t be Wrong – But They Sure Can Be Clueless

Trump Cabinet Thinks the Unthinkable – Who’da Thunk It?

Quite early yesterday morning, so early, in fact, that I had to arrive at the office before Gretchen, a consultation began with a gentleman who insisted I call him “Randy Harry Merkin,” although that obviously could not be his real name. He paid cash, and told me that he is a policy advisor to a… Continue reading Trump Cabinet Thinks the Unthinkable – Who’da Thunk It?

US and N. Korea Wrestle in Deep Kimchee

I was relaxing at my home in Great Falls, Virginia this morning, reading Kierkegaard around three in the afternoon when my land line rang, and Caller ID revealed it was a satellite phone call from none other than Kim Jong-un, Glorious and Infallible Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. As faithful… Continue reading US and N. Korea Wrestle in Deep Kimchee

Russian May Have to Play Roulette with Presidential Pardons

As the venerable aphorism so pithily puts it, the difference between Hell and Washington DC in the summer is that Hell has dry heat. With the thermometer flirting with one hundred degrees Fahrenheit and the air so sodden with water vapor that stepping outside of an air conditioned building feels like crawling into a Siksika… Continue reading Russian May Have to Play Roulette with Presidential Pardons