Lipstick on Porker

I do so love it when the U.S. military tries to be introspective and thoughtful - a bunch of uber-Alpha males pop on Mary Chapin Carpenter into their iPods and suddenly they morph into Sensitive New Age Guys. Tailhook becomes Talisman, and that swingers' club that passes for CentCom in Tampa, Florida becomes an ashram.

Right....

OK, so the generals and admirals will now be seeking 360 feedback, according to the NYTimes in a very interesting piece yesterday: Conduct at Issue as Military Officers Face a New Review.

I'm sure this is a real "game-changer," and subordinates will feel completely free to tell it sock it to their commanding officers - the same guys, and let's face it, they are mostly guys - who will make or break their careers in the military.

But I guess it's a first goose-step in the right direction for an institution that, as the fortune in the cookie says, prides itself on being all that it can be...in bed.

Better Bread Than Dead

Apologies to all for a two month hiatus. No excuses, and it's good to be back.

Here we go again. In another stroke of political genius - GENIUS I tell you! - the Obama administration has made a beeline to the "center" for its initial negotiating position with the knuckle-dragging crowd, aka, the GOP, for talks on the budget.

Uhm, OK...and they hope to come away with what exactly at the end of this process? Somebody needs to send Barack Obama back up to Cambridge to bone up on negotiation tactics. By beginning with what could only be seen as a worst case end result, the actual outcome of the budget negotiations is likely to be dismal. This initial offer by the White House legitimizes the illegitimate - taking yet another pass on addressing poverty and injustice and equating the value of programs designed to reduce inequality and to promote resilience with those that stuff more resources into the maw of our overfed military-intelligence complex.

The moral bankruptcy of Barack Obama continues. Which chapter are we filing today?