Ars Gratia Artis – at Half a Million Dollars a Pop

Looks like my misgivings about the Delta variant were, unfortunately, well-founded, and over the last three weeks, my continued preference for working from my home office in Great Falls, Virginia has proved as prudent as I originally suspected it would be. Although actually, since I own my office suite in downtown Washington DC, I have… Continue reading Ars Gratia Artis – at Half a Million Dollars a Pop

To Explain Ukraine is Mainly a Big Pain

The biggest single problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. – George Bernard Shaw It was another working Saturday which found me at the Round Robin Bar after my final consultation ended at seven thirty in the evening. There, I saw Farquhar, a DC staffer for the Biden campaign and McLoon,… Continue reading To Explain Ukraine is Mainly a Big Pain

FIFA Fie Fo Fum! An Evil Giant Bumbles, Stumbles and Falls

Early this afternoon, Merdoso Donnato Pompino, representing the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, paid me a visit for a consultation. Obviously still on Naples time, he arrived twenty minutes late, and obviously a completely self-absorbed, if obviously aging jock, he nevertheless spent another ten trying to get Gretchen’s telephone number. What the hell, as far… Continue reading FIFA Fie Fo Fum! An Evil Giant Bumbles, Stumbles and Falls

Welcome to Washington, Congressional Fresh Meat Serving No. 114

The calls started late on Tuesday, November 4. I received five of them before midnight. They have continued unabated since. It’s an assured ritual that occurs like clockwork every two years – new members of Congress calling me for the sort of advice and information not found in the traditional freshman briefings offered on Capitol… Continue reading Welcome to Washington, Congressional Fresh Meat Serving No. 114

Ugandan President to Visit Exotic and Inscrutable USA

Yesterday, Gretchen had occasion to squeeze Dr. Bashafala Kumanina Kinuka Mkundu, Primary Under Assistant Secretary for Economic, Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Ugandan Embassy to the United States of America, into my consultation schedule. “Mr. Collins,” she complained to me via IM Chat from her computer in the reception area, “this Dr. Mknundu is… Continue reading Ugandan President to Visit Exotic and Inscrutable USA