Far East Cynic

The greatest gift given to me.

I watched a documentary about Arthur Miller on HBO Max last night. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. It was a great overview of one of my favorite writers and a truly great American playwright. I’ve read 4 of his plays: The Crucible, Death of Salesman, All my Sons, and

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Let’s hurry up and get it over with.

Playing Round 20 of that peculiarly American game, “Who lost Afghanistan?” Interestingly enough, there is one answer that is never allowed in this discussion. No one ever blames the Afghans themselves. As a result, it’s similar to the old game Americans used to play: “ Who lost Iraq?“ An interesting

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What if it is only the intermission?

And the second act is still waiting for the curtain to open, on a more hideous chapter of the play? Like many Americans, I was elated when it became clear that Donald Trump had lost the election. I’ve been writing about how dangerous he and his band of totalitarian wannabes

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The future’s not bright, so you don’t gotta wear shades.

Actually, the future of the post COVID world is down right depressing. A lot of people are assuming that once everyone gets vaccinated and herd immunity is supposedly achieved the world will go back to normal. Except, that’s not what is going to happen. A “return to normalcy might have

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It sure does not seem that long ago.

30 years ago today, I launched off of USS America (CV-66(6) on one of the first missions of Desert Storm. According to my logbook, we got 5 hours airborne flying over Saudi Arabia and looking both into Iraq and into Jordan. America was not flying any strikes that first night

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Literally, tears of joy and relief!

The mission of this Allied Force was accomplished at 11:25 EST, 07 November 2020. It’s been four LONG years. Years of misery and anger. Years of astonishment watching the norms of American society attacked again and again. Watching worthless slime, like Adolf Eichmann Stephen Miller, commit atrocities and crimes against

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Follow up

A follow up to my post from yesterday on the Navy’s incredibly hellish OPTEMPO. An article appeared on the US Naval Institute Web site by a LTJG who is currently “living the dream” that is the Navy’s nightmare deployment schedule. I know a person who knows him and describes him

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Nothing short of a crime.

Amidst all of the recent political news in the United States, a few Navy related headlines from defense trade papers may have escaped your attention. However, you really should pay attention to them. Your Navy, MY Navy, for which I gave decades of service, is being ground into the dirt.

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The major machinery is broken

It’s been a hell of a month for the land of my birth. Not in a good way, either, what with the death of RBG, Trump’s disastrous debate performance, the utter hypocrisy of the GOP’s stand on a Supreme Court nominee – coupled with the nomination of an unqualified religious

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In for the long haul.

John Lewis passed away this weekend. It’s truly a sad day for this country – especially in light of the fact that the events of this year have shown how far the nation still has to go to achieve fairness and equality. John Lewis was in the struggle from his

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