James Drogan

Senate Bolton Vote May Bypass Panel.  Perhaps I spoke a bit too soon earlier this morning.

From Of, By and For comes A Note to the Chairman of the Democratic Party.  It is most directly about American's energy issue.  But I see it as a more significant call for the Democratic Party to provide a different kind of leadership than it does today -- charitably, perhaps, called indifference to the issues -- to get the country out of the ditch.

After exhausting all(?) alternatives, and exasperating a substantial number of people, the Republicans come down on the side of ethics.

However, what is to be made of this?

Andrew J Bacevich, writing in the Asia Times on April 26, provides an interesting view of the neo-conservative.

I had previously blogged in the virtues of engagement, listening, understanding, tolerance, acceptance, and subsequent cooperation.  None of these words, it would seem, would or could be used in the definition of a neocon.  The neocons, like the Catholic Church, have adopted a Doctrine of Infallibility.  And, like the Catholic Church, if you're not in, then you're out, and woe be unto you.

I'm uncomfortable with the ring of this.  It is hubris in the extreme for America to think she alone possesses the moral compass.

The Asia Times continue to be an interesting and informative source of points of view on the global situation that I don't find in the American MSM.  The articles cause me to think, which is always good. I recommend it for those looking for balance in their sources of information.

Go to the New York Container Terminal Image Gallery and start the slideshow.

This lead editorial from the April 21 issue of the New York Times lays out what America's congressional representatives (who seem to be becoming more inept as time goes by) and citizens (who seem to be becoming less understanding of the world as time goes by) need to pay attention to.

Understanding the current situation and the implications of proposed actions is not difficult, but it does take some time and thought.  America ought, at the very least, be able to expect this from Congress.  But what do we get?  Prediction of the apocalypse, the fanning of fear,  and that others are to blame.  Where is Franklin Roosevelt or Andrew Shepard when we need them?

Can't we get above the partisan interests?

After some amount of frustration with Blogger (for my blog) and Earthline (for my website), I've decided to have a go with Squarespace for the next 30 days.  The aim is to combine both functionalities in a single site.

We'll see.