Bulls Stampede to Facebook and Get Slaughtered

Around three o’clock yesterday afternoon, my brother-in-law Hank started camping out in my reception area, pleading with Gretchen to find time for a meeting.  That happened at five, when a consultation with the deputy secretary from the Embassy of Mali was abruptly canceled.  “Tom,” Hank stuttered as he rushed in and threw himself on the… Continue reading Bulls Stampede to Facebook and Get Slaughtered

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

Don’t Cry for Oil, Argentina

I didn’t go in to the office this morning, and eagerly anticipated a quiet Saturday at home in Great Falls, Virginia with my girlfriend Cerise and my cat Twinkle.  We had, however, just finished a tasty late winter Tidewater lunch of shad roe with chard and roasted red fingerling potatoes when my POTS land line… Continue reading Don’t Cry for Oil, Argentina

Orban’s Tooth-and-Nail Hungarian Goulash Recipe

Yesterday was another twelve-hour Saturday, which, given the state of the nation, and, indeed, the world lately, I suppose shouldn’t have surprised me.  Not that I’m complaining about working six days a week instead of five, no way – make hay while the sun shines, I say.  Around nine o’clock, I received a visit from Colonel… Continue reading Orban’s Tooth-and-Nail Hungarian Goulash Recipe