Argentina’s Falkland Tempest in a Tin Pot

Friday afternoon, I was visited by Dr. Pedro “Pete” Tontogrande Chupacerdo y Boludo del Alcantarilla, former Juan Perón Professor of International Peace, Tolerance and Diplomacy at the University of Buenos Aries and current Primary Counselor for Political and Economic Policy at the Embassy of Argentina here in Washington, DC.  As regular readers of this Web… Continue reading Argentina’s Falkland Tempest in a Tin Pot

Norquist Pledge Proves Politically Taxing

Thursday morning, Gretchen rang my extension and asked, “Mr. Collins, who the hell is Grover Norquist?” “Why do you ask?” I inquired. “Because there’s this guy on Line Two who said he’s somebody named ‘Grover Norquist,’ and when I asked him, ‘How do you spell your last name, sir?’ he went ballistic!  He was like,… Continue reading Norquist Pledge Proves Politically Taxing

Utterly Bad, Good ‘n’ Ugly – Eastwood Makes Obama’s Day

This Labor Day, the humidity in Washington was so intense, when I woke up this morning, all the windows were dripping with condensation on the outside.  That’s because I had the air conditioning on the inside at a pleasant seventy-two degrees all night.  We are expecting the remnants of hurricane Isaac, too, but the family… Continue reading Utterly Bad, Good ‘n’ Ugly – Eastwood Makes Obama’s Day

Greeks Fear the New Drachma Won’t Be Worth a Continental

Another working Saturday ended rather late today, at six, culminating in a consultation with Dr. Vilaremetaftia Kolodaktilo, Principal Secondary Assistant Mattachine Attaché for High Culture at the Greek Embassy here in Washington.  His usual concern over the years has been the return of Greek antiquities from places like the Getty Museum to their rightful situations… Continue reading Greeks Fear the New Drachma Won’t Be Worth a Continental

GOP and Dems Alike, Everybody Wants to Pound Julia

Poor Mexico – so far from God, and so close to the United States. – Mexican folk aphorism, often erroneously attributed to José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori Cinco de Mayo isn’t Mexican Independence Day; that’s September 16.  It isn’t the date of the Mexican Constitution – that’s February 5.  It isn’t the date… Continue reading GOP and Dems Alike, Everybody Wants to Pound Julia