Category Archives: Commentary

The Gathering Storm?

12/27/2007 – 11:29 am

In the autumn of 1979, I was a college freshman; majoring in history and watching it unfold. The Solidarity movement emerged from the shipyards of Gdansk as I arrived at school. Eight weeks later, Iranian students took staff at the US embassy in Tehran hostage. Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan on Christmas Eve. Each event sounded […]

By floegel | Also posted in Electoral Politics, Oil | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Next To Godliness

12/20/2007 – 11:17 am

This isn’t a Christmas story, per se. It’s about soap. It takes place in Louisiana in June, far removed from the climate and symbols traditionally associated with Christmas, but the more I contemplate the “Christmas spirit” the more this story pushes to the front of my mind. The June in question was 2001, before specific […]

By floegel | Also posted in Economy, Toxics | Tagged , | Comments (1)

My Other Religion

12/13/2007 – 10:25 am

This is the time of year when religion fills the air. The eight nights of Hanukkah concluded last night, Christmas is less than two weeks away and the presidential primaries are in full swing. In years past, presidential politics and religion were as separate as… well, as church and state, but those lines get blurrier […]

By floegel | Also posted in Civil Liberty, Electoral Politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

NIE Q&A, OK?

12/6/2007 – 8:28 am

The big news this week is that a new National Intelligence Estimate says Iran ceased work toward nuclear weapons in 2003, contradicting everything George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have been saying about Iran for the past several years. We here at MarkFloegel.org (well OK, it’s just me) know the ins and outs of this […]

By floegel | Also posted in Oil | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Impeachment Now!

11/29/2007 – 11:06 am

In Zen Buddhism, there is the idea that while enlightenment can takes years of meditation and discipline, it can also happen in a flash. Suddenly, the mind becomes clear and everything makes sense. In Zen, it’s called satori, which means “kick in the eye.” I had one of those Monday when a local blog quoted […]

By floegel | Also posted in Civil Liberty, Electoral Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Working Class Middle Class

11/22/2007 – 8:32 am

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you’re enjoying the day away from work and with family and friends. On our semi-secular holiday, we give thanks not only for what we have, but also for the blessings we anticipate in the year to come. We anticipate blessings, both small and large. Someone in the family may be looking […]

By floegel | Also posted in Economy | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Never Forget

11/15/2007 – 10:44 am

Four hundred and ten years later, the quality of mercy is still not strained. The ability to forgive is still a boon, both to the transgressor and the transgressed. There are, however, other issues. There are questions of justice and how we conduct ourselves as a society. Twenty-two years ago, a team of French commandos […]

By floegel | Also posted in Civil Liberty, September 11th | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)