Author Archive

“Inter arma enim silent leges.” »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Dec 23, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments

“In Time of War the Law is Made Silent.” – Cicero The infamous, illegal, immoral and shameful American war of choice in Iraq has ended, as it should, in ignominy. The few remaining American troops took the flag and slunk over the border to Kuwait, home of another American war that, at least, had the [...]

Science Marches On… »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Oct 2, 2011 in Current Affairs, Science | View Comments

* Bumped Up * Editor’s Note: Craig’s post is the first in a new series about science. Given Craig’s sharp writing abilities and his encyclopedic brain, we should be in for a treat every week. Enjoy the first. For several years now I’ve been collecting odd and unusual science articles and sending them out to [...]

Reboot: America 2.0 »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Sep 26, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments

* Bumped Up * It doesn’t help to be right if you can’t make things change. Cassandra was terminally frustrated – I know how she felt. It also doesn’t help to sit in a warm bath of your own self-regard and point fingers at all the bad guys – they’re merrily running off with the [...]

An Open Letter to the Libertarians/Randities »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Sep 20, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments

I haven’t written in a long time, I’ve spent the last year or so in reflective mode, trying to see a path that doesn’t just go over old ground: yes, we know Obama is an idiot, we knew it first… so what? The coming campaign for 2012 is, sadly, predictable – unless HRC reconsiders… but [...]

Iran Viewed with Startling Distrust by its Neighbors »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Jul 31, 2011 in Current Affairs | View Comments

While the absurd Kabuki theatre continues in Washington, look at James Zogby’s latest poll, which reveals that inhabitants throughout the Middle East view Iran with rapidly growing suspicion. From Zogby’s Huffington Post article, “Iran’s Freefall“: Iran’s favorable ratings are in a “freefall” across the Arab World, with Iran’s behavior in Iraq, Bahrain and the Arab [...]

Language and the Will to Power – Part 1 »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Nov 13, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

I’m bemused by the trend, in recent years, of obfuscating, conflating and downright deliberate abuse of our language – especially our political language. It has left people confused (perhaps intentionally) about some basic terms and that, in turn, has left them confused about the realities of our current social/political/economic situation. This may seem picayune to [...]

[Blink!]… [Blink!] Dispatch #2 »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Jun 1, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

As the Gulf oil catastrophe continues to worsen, I’ve been checking with some sources on this matter: From Matt Simmons: …“In my opinion, what most likely happened when one of the largest surges of oil as gas blew out the BOP and within seconds, began melting down one of the world’s most technically advanced deepwater [...]

The World Boole Made »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on May 15, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

George Boole (1815-1864) is, in large part, responsible for our current technological society. His studies and discoveries in mathematics and logic were the necessary precursors for the development of computers. Boolean logic is fundamental to computer science and can reasonably be inferred to represent our capacity, as humans, to think rationally, to make evaluative judgments [...]

[Blink!]… [Blink!] »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on May 13, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

UPDATE: Seems like Mr. Madsen may have hit the mark this time. From the NYT: “Size of Oil Spill in Gulf Underestimated, Scientists Say” Remember how that annoying light showed up on the dash? The incomprehensible graphic didn’t tell you anything and you had to look it up in the Owner’s Manual? And the Owner’s [...]

BO(zo)’s Bright-Unique-Lovey-Loopey-Shiny-Hopey-Ideal-Twinkle plan for NASA »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Apr 17, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

BO(zo) did a flyover and crapped on NASA at the KSC today on his way to a $30K/plate fundraiser. He’s now hawking his new plan that I’ve dubbed the B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T plan. Note: the original, bulleted, items are all taken from the White House handout.

This is what tyranny looks like… »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Apr 9, 2010 in Civil Liberties & Rights, Current Affairs, impeachment | View Comments

I remember the day after George W. Bush opened his illegal, immoral, unprovoked war on Iraq – based on nothing but lies – when an email petition came through advocating that we start impeachment proceedings against him. I knew it was a non-starter, politically speaking, but I thought we should, at the very least, let [...]

The Honor Roll **Open Thread** »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Mar 24, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

Here’s the list of Democratic Representatives who had the guts to vote against this atrocious bill: I’m sure that not all of these folks voted against it out of principle. I’m sure many of them had some more or less venal reason for doing so – I don’t care. I think respect should be paid [...]

Smoke signals… »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Mar 20, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” is a cliche but it’s true nonetheless… I’m smelling smoke – haven’t seen it yet but it’s out there.

Once again, the US shows its leadership on human rights… »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Mar 10, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

…oh, wait

Reflections in a Dark Room – Part 3 »

By CRAIG DELLA PENNA on Mar 8, 2010 in Current Affairs | View Comments

Obama is not the problem – we are. I’ve been re-reading the “Anti-Federalist Papers” trying to get a feel for what the FFs were thinking as they gathered in the spring and summer of 1787 to hammer out a constitution. One pleasant surprise is that James Madison, acting as scribe and reporter of the various [...]

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