It’s hard to resist, and my indifferent pose is revealed as hopelessly false as I now recourse to the “sorry for the lack of posting…”, er, post. But since debasing oneself should be, like any worthwhile pursuit, done thoroughly, I will do it right and proper: Sorry for the lack of posting. If I wasn’tContinue reading “By Way of Explanation”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Slow Death of Satire Continues
The Great Debaters is also excellent because it educates its audience on the word “denigrate.” The word comes from the Latin words “de+nigrare,” meaning “to make black.” Washington’s character makes the case that the word we use to mean “disparage” or “defame” also means “to blacken” and that it has racist undertones.I have used theContinue reading “The Slow Death of Satire Continues”
Brush with Grayness
Passing into a government building resembles passing out of one mode of existence into another. The very act of gaining entrance into one of these citadels of authority is fraught with dread, anxiety and alienation. This is a normal response to the lifting of the veil from one’s irrelevance and powerlessness before the State. ItContinue reading “Brush with Grayness”
Has-Beens, Take Me Away!
It’s a familiar and cynical cliche that the masses “crave a strong leader.” This commonplace endures because it is so often demonstrably true. The priesthood of today’s prevailing order, mainstream media punditry, occasionally demonstrates this with the unintentional comedy of paeans extolling, say, the masculine vigor of a particular favored politician (think of of ChrisContinue reading “Has-Beens, Take Me Away!”
The complete lack of interest in the recent fictional thread combined with the ongoing death spiral in readership (at what point does decency require we pull the plug?) is not lost on Untethered’s editorial staff. Therefore, in one final attempt to revive this thing from its catatonia, I hereby announce a new direction. From nowContinue reading
This Year’s Legislative Lump of Coal
With the 9/11 attacks al Qaeda sought to draw the United States into the “slow bleeding” of wars in Muslim countries, sapping American will to remain in the Middle East while increasing Muslim resentment against the United States and support for the global jihad. With the invasion of Iraq, its disastrous progress, and the rapidContinue reading “This Year’s Legislative Lump of Coal”
"Blogging!", Still
Not that anyone is out there to notice, much less care (I of course am not referring to you, Uncle Morty), but recently I “blogged” on the subject of the recent NIE and the apparent defections of two senior Iranian government officials [correction: the arrest of one for “spying”, and the apparent defection of another,Continue reading “"Blogging!", Still”
Sunday Sermonette
The Unanticipated Consequences of Unacknowledged Ambitions Let’s try to be precise then. The word “torture” does not appear in our orders… And those who explode bombs in public places, do they perhaps respect the law? … No, gentlemen, believe me, it is a vicious circle. And we could discuss the problem for hours without reachingContinue reading “Sunday Sermonette”
Warning: sanctimony, with a brogue, at 2:32; Orbital, You LotVideo by Sebastian Demuth using footage from the film Casshern. Voice sample from the British television program The Second Coming. These are great days we’re living, bros. We’re jolly green giants, walking the earth. With guns!–“Crazy Earl”, Full Metal Jacket
"Blogging!"
Is there a connection between the arrest of former Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Moussavian last May for allegedly passing on information about Iran’s nuclear program to the British, and the recent National Intelligence Estimate? The New York Times reported on Dec. 5: American intelligence agencies reversed their view about the status of Iran‘s nuclear weaponsContinue reading “"Blogging!"”
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