The Missing Link

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I would like to call your attention to a new link over to the right, to my friend Scott Calamar’s blog, “Cynically Sound”, in the “Other Blogs” section. Scott is a musician, writer and former journalist, which perhaps accounts for his sensitive, well-informed, yet jaded outlook on life. He started his blog before I did (and posts more often), but for technical reasons I’ve been unable to link to it before now. At any rate, check it out. You may find it as entertaining as I do.

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Bush Turns Over a New Leaf

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Yesterday at a press conference President Bush said, “Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal government didn’t fully do its job right, I take responsibility.” Well, to the extent that the president understands what it means to take responsibility, I applaud his statement. Perhaps he has turned over a new leaf and is considering taking responsibility for some of the other things that have happened during his administration. As Bill Maher put it “we’ve lost almost all of our allies, the surplus, four airliners, two Trade Centers, … Continue reading →

Bush League Response

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I’ve been at a loss to know what to write about the current disaster in Mississippi and Louisiana, particularly New Orleans. My emotions continue to run the gamut from sorrow and pity to anger and outrage. The response of the Federal government has been, shall we say, inadequate. Bush league even. (Remember Bush’s “ownership society?” This is what it looks like during a national crisis. Maybe we should just call it what it is: the “You’re-on-your-own society.”) The following is an open letter to President Bush published in the Sept. 4 New Orleans Times-Picayune. I reprint it here, in full, … Continue reading →

A Modest Proposal

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In 1729 Irish-born satirist Jonathan Swift wrote a treatise in which he proposed a solution to twin problems facing many Irish families at the time, namely too many children and not enough money. His “modest proposal,” as he called it, suggested that poverty-stricken parents sell their young children to wealthier citizens as culinary delicacies. ”I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled …” he wrote Needless to say, Swift … Continue reading →

Seasoned Greetings

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The other day I got an email from India. Actually, it was the fourth time I have received the identical message. Most people would probably consider the unsolicited message spam, but something about the charming way it was worded leads me to feel differently. “Seasoned Greetings!” the message begins, which strikes me as a reasonable salutation from a country known for its spices. The sender is named Rajeeve Om Joshi, and he identifies himself as the director of a company known as The Josh, which is about as friendly a name for a company as I have ever heard. I … Continue reading →