Friday, December 31, 2021

TIL: My Mistakes in Foreign Policy

I'm not in position to set foreign policy for the U.S. Government. More and more I'm thinking that's a good thing. Because a couple of my notions about wise foreign policy have proven to be, how do I put this, disasters for America and the world. Live and learn, amiright?

Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for "The Atlantic" and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. In her recent cover story, "The Bad Guys are Winning", she explains why. "If the 20th century was the story of slow, uneven progress toward the victory of liberal democracy over other ideologies—communism, fascism, virulent nationalism—the 21st century is, so far, a story of the reverse."

Thursday, December 30, 2021

POTD: Balloons Over the Valley of the Kings

From 2019 11 22 Valley of the Kings

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Luxor, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile River. It was taken in the morning, looking west over the Nile and towards the Valley of the Kings.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

POTD: The Lock at Esna

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Esna, Egypt. It shows the lock that vessels have to navigate to pass the "Electricity Bridge" across the Nile River built there by the British.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

POTD: Sunset on the Nile

From 2019 11 21 Kom Ombo and Edfu

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Edfu, Egypt. It shows a sunset on the Nile. That's all.

I think this is an appropriate image for "Dead Week", the best week of the year, the week between Christmas and New Years Eve.

Monday, December 27, 2021

I Have Seen Texas's Future

The anti-maskers, anti-vaxers, anti-diversity, anti-LGBTQ, anti-library, anti-education zealots in Texas just think they are the leaders in moving America ahead by taking it back. They aren't. Texans are followers. The real leaders of the "anti" movement are elsewhere. To see where trends in Texas are leading, look to Idaho.

Friday, December 24, 2021

Reader Feedback: "Go Help a Kid"

Recently, I posted "Why I Support DEI, In One Graph". Separately, I posted "Why I Support SEL, In One Parent's Story". Reader feedback prompts me to add some things.

  1. I know this DEI graph isn't the whole story. It's just one graph.
  2. I don't have the solution. Richardson ISD's DEI policy is forcing RISD to address the problem. Maybe the solution will come out of that.
  3. Readers are smarter than I am. There was a lot of great feedback to my post.

Thursday, December 23, 2021

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Rotten Tomatoes
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004): Mock documentary that's part Jacques Costeau, part Moby Dick. Maybe in 2004 this would have seemed fresh, but there have been so many better Wes Anderson films since then. This one never takes off. Script and acting are lifeless. C-

#VeryTardyReview