Kim Jong Un Endures North Korea’s Failure to Launch

The unusually warm winter and early spring here in Washington this year resulted in some strange and wonderful things – the flowering cherry trees, which respond to temperature, came out in advance of the forsythia, which responds to the light cycle.  Crocuses, daffodils and tulips, which ordinarily bloom in a predictable sequence, all decided to… Continue reading Kim Jong Un Endures North Korea’s Failure to Launch

The GSA – Uncle Sam’s Landlord Knows How to Live

Ballantine and I went to college together, which is to say, we attended it at the same time and were in several of the same classes.  The last I knew, he was in the Senior Executive Service with GSA Region 9, which is out on the west coast.  So I hadn’t seen him in quite a while… Continue reading The GSA – Uncle Sam’s Landlord Knows How to Live

Scalia Says Obamacare Tastes Like Broccoli

It was a mighty glum Mortimer Groenteboer of the American Fruit and Vegetable Council who came to visit my office on the afternoon of Friday March 30.  “He looks,” Gretchen opined in an instant message shortly before showing him in, “like he was weaned on a pickle.” And so he did.  A more unhappy Washington… Continue reading Scalia Says Obamacare Tastes Like Broccoli

The Etchy, Sketchy Heart of Romney’s Worst Problem

As any good political operative will tell you, their role in a campaign is to make their candidate as famous as possible while themselves remaining, if not anonymous, at least thoroughly obscure.  But late yesterday afternoon, Gretchen patched through Eric Fehmstrom, a gentleman who works for the Mitt Romney campaign, and, as many readers of… Continue reading The Etchy, Sketchy Heart of Romney’s Worst Problem

Kony 2012 Makes Jason Russell Barely Famous

I was relaxing at my home in Great Falls, Virginia this afternoon, preparing to drive over to Fairfax for what my sister-in-law Shannon promises to be a genuine Chicago Irish St. Patrick’s day celebration, when my POTS land line rang.  The caller ID was partially blocked, showing only an 858 area code.  I must confess,… Continue reading Kony 2012 Makes Jason Russell Barely Famous