by admin | Sep 11, 2007 |
I was drawn to the telly to take in the testimony of Gen. David Paetraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker like a moth to a flame. The result was undesirable, but unavoidable. I sat transfixed listening to politicos of both stripes produce rhetorical statements of huge pomposity which may have contained the hint of a question, while The General (TG) and The Ambassador (TA) tried to figure how to react to a non-question question and staying on the pre-agreed talking points. Seeing TG handle his own charts recalled a more virtuous and tender time when I was a chart holder for another general giving a presentation of great moment. I was a 1st LT in the service of...
by admin | Jun 17, 2007 |
I’ve been uncomfortable ever since rhetoric started flying over the current immigration issue. My discomfort is caused in part because, for the most part, it is a discussion about exclusion. Who gets in and who doesn’t, and what do you do with the ones that are in, but shouldn’t be. It’s intellectually trite to admit that we’re immigrants all, but it’s a fact. The only differences are when did we or our ancestors come and what was our cultural flavor when we got here. A history of immigration is a bifurcated story. On the one hand, we have the story of the rejects, downtrodden and oppressed of other countries prospering under the mantle of...
by admin | Jun 13, 2007 |
About once every three or four years I stumble in to The City (as in New York City) on a Sunday in advance of Monday meetings only to be greeted by an ominous warning from my driver, “I don’t know how we’re going to get to your hotel, the Puerto Ricans have taken over the city”. Translated, that means the city will be packed with revelers of all stripes enjoying the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade…. up 5th Avenue from 46th to 86th. This may not seem like such a big deal to you uninitiated, but let me assure you that several hundred thousand parade marchers and watchers, not to mention thousands of the city’s finest trying to control the crowds make for...
by admin | May 25, 2007 |
I was asked to speak at a Memorial Day celebration in the small town near our ranch. I guess they had gotten the word that I was an easy mark when there was a podium and a microphone involved. For reasons unclear to me at the time, I had a hard time deciding whether or not to accept. I’m sure they weren’t looking for much. A few words in memory of those members of America’s military who had sacrificed in our behalf and in celebration of those who still served. No jokes, no pithy stories. Just a few words to make people feel a little better. Before making my decision, I spent more than a little time trying to figure out what I would say and how I would say...
