Christopher Hitchens

I just heard author and so called “liberal hawk” Christoper Hitchens say, in hawking his book on Thomas Jefferson to Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, that Jefferson “unilaterally” waged war against “Islamic terrorists” when he sent the U. S. Navy to invade the Barbary States of North Africa which were sponsoring the [...]

An Apartment

I have today received confirmation of my rental of an apartment on the edge of downtown Merida, that I will move into on October 1.
The apartment is two stories, one bedroom, fully furnished (even an iron, ironing board, and microwave, conveniences I have long lived without), air conditioning and adjoining private terrace. [...]

Pat Robertson – Liar

Reuters reports that televangelist Pat Robertson, in addition to being a demagogic radical who has defiled Christianity by using it for his personal political objectives, is a liar. After explicitly advocating the assassination of Venezuelan President Chavez, Robertson today denied it. See below.
As an aside, how can Reuters seriously refer to Robertson as a [...]

Osgood Brown Conference Center

I was stunned to learn Saturday evening (Aug. 6, 2005), during the grand opening party for the Elma Microtel Inn and Suites, that the wonderful folks of WSCO Petroleum had named the conference center adjacent to the hotel after Mayor Osgood and me. They also named one of the two meeting rooms for each of [...]

Mt. Hood at Dusk

I really like this photo I took at dusk in late April 2002 while driving East through Eastern Oregon.

Hvar

The hillsides throughout the island of Hvar, just off the Dalmatian coast, have been terraced over the millennia by folks clearing rocks so the ground could be farmed. Lavender is grown everywhere and its scent permeates the air. Also grown are grapes from which is made the dark golden, tasty local wine.
Also on Hvar is [...]

More Indignities Heaped Upon the Constitution

Emails from two military prosecutors working at prosecuting Guantanamo Bay detainees indicate that the ‘military tribunals’ are “rigged.”
Let’s see. We declare the prisoners enemy combatants, imprison them incommunicado off-shore, deny them legal counsel, torture them; and, after the Supreme Court rules that the prisoners must be provided due process of the law, set up [...]