Isengard on the Potomac: #2

Part II: What the Experts Say This is the second in a series on Bush’s environmental record. Part I: Mission Statement is available here. Feedback to the first part of this series got a bit muddled, for which I’ll take responsibility, but to summarize the point: The EPA has a mission, a raison d’etre, and … Read more

Mighta been the Whiskey; Mighta been the Gin…

So the only thing I can focus on this morning is my blaring inability to focus due to a wee bit too much consumption last night. Having misspent at least 5 lifetimes of youths, I’m seasoned in the art of overcoming a hangover, but you’re never too old to learn something new, so I’m wondering … Read more

Isengard on the Potomac

Part I: Mission Statement This is the first in a planned series on Bush’s environmental record Environmental protection is a progressive obligation. By that, I mean specifically that rolling back regulations should not be the focus of the EPA. (It’s similar to the logic that explaining to employers how to work around overtime regulations should … Read more

Thou shall not make for yourselves an idol

So Chief Justice Roy Moore might not approve, and Paula, Randy and Simon already cast their “No” votes, but the rest of the country seems to be sidestepping these authorities and creating their own Idol out of UC Berkeley student William Hung. If you were (un)fortunate enough to miss Hung’s audition on the Fox show … Read more

Edward(s) for President

Ever begun to wonder (somewhere between that 2nd and 3rd cocktail) if you’d make a good president? Yes, you? Political Junkie, blog-addict, arm-chair pundit…it’s had to occur to you, even if only to imagine yourself with access to the WH’s infamous kitchen or to search out the supposed secret tunnels under the Rose Garden. (Does … Read more

Labor Pines

Disclaimer: My father’s labor union paid a substantial chunk of my college tuition through a scholarship I received, so I’m far from unbiased on this topic. John Kerry is expected to receive the endorsement of the AFL-CIO tomorrow. Surprise anyone? This, from the AFL-CIO’s website, surprised me: Unions’ political work is not about electing Democrats … Read more

Gentrification Guilt and Gefilte Fish

About a half hour after I had closed my gallery in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) the other day, an aggressive knock at the door revealed a Hasidic gentleman looking somewhat anxious. I let him in and he looked around, rather confused, asking “Is this a spa?” “No,” I replied. “It’s an art gallery.” “What do you do … Read more

By way of introduction…

I was somewhere between one of my many lives (translation: travelling without web access) when Obsidian Wings was born, so I missed the first few weeks of postings here. I was snarking ferociously on Tacitus when someone cited Moe’s own blog. What? A blogchild of Tacitus? And by the incomparable Moe Lane, no less? I … Read more