Far East Cynic

Why it is hard to be a Pirates fan these days.

As a person who grew up in Pittsburgh, it is been really frustrating to watch my baseball team these last few years. They had not made the playoff since 1992 with the exception of three glory years in 2013-2015 where they got to wild card and promptly lost. The current

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Not liking a comparison does not mean that the comparison is incorrect

A quick post on the recent stunt by Florida’s legislature and deadly governor Ron DeSantis. Last June, I wrote a post about how today’s Republican party proves its resemblance to the apartheid government every day. In it, I noted, “What is also very much like South Africa, is the attempt

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One thing I absolutely do not regret.

I am approaching what could best be described as the contemplative stage of life. Savoring the adventures and the victories, dryly musing about the things I should have done differently – or should not have done at all. Regrets? I have a few. However, I will never regret wire brushing

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The rot, it runs deep.

Today I saw something that made me truly despair for the future of this country. 124 former flag officers, several of whom I used to respect, had the unmitigated gall to put their names to a piece of shit, rather traitorous, letter. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/fb7c7bd8-097d-4e2f-8f12-3442d151b57d/downloads/2021%20Open%20Letter%20from%20Retired%20Generals%20and%20Adm.pdf?ver=1620643005025&fbclid=IwAR0VuxO5QWIii8O-Z4Xp9Qu5-mMailCNVpKEmK3m0DjM_FqHIBoobPkdN4M One of the signatories is a former

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The price is not right.

It’s Golden Week in Japan. That succession of holidays strung together designed to encourage Japanese citizens to go somewhere and spend some of their hard-earned yen. In Japan, May 1st is not a holiday, but many people take it off, and to the rest of the civilized world is Labor

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Worth repeating.

I’m a big fan of Jim Wright. Besides the fact that he and I are in alignment on most things – I like the fact that he is blunt and unafraid to take on controversial subjects. That is certainly true in his most recent face book post. Be sure to

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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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Be careful what you wish for….

For you may surely get it. This morning, on my way into work, I heard a story on NPR about the Congressional effort by Kirsten Gillibrand to pass legislation to take the power of prosecuting sexual assault cases in the military out of the hands of Court Martial Convening authorities

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The usual suspects come crawling out….

I think I am not alone when I say that I felt relieved when the verdict for Derek Chauvin was announced today. I did not expect to see the jury convict on all three counts. That said – it was clear that the prosecution had made a strong case, and

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The current era, summed up succinctly.

Being the trendy, social media maven that I am (sarcasm definitely intended), I’ve gotten up and running on Tik Tok. Besides being a wonderful way to give Donald Trump the finger in 2020 – it has been really fun to see how creative a lot of people around the world

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