Author: Vic Socotra

Arrias: Existential Threat

There is an adage in aviation that runs: “Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.” What it means is that, above all things, keep the airplane flying. Second, figure out where you are. Third, talk to the ground or other airplanes only after you have taken care of the other two – in sequence. It was this very simple […]

Plague Life

We have all been spending a lot of time at home, and judging from the amount of notes in the email string, we are spending too much time in cyberspace. I am not going to launch into another satyric account of our current national disorganization. It is fun to watch and quite spectacular. Since I […]

The Playbook

(Judge Bork, in the old days) I enjoyed our recent dance through the current campaign to overthrow the Government of the United States. It has been great fun to see the drama unfold, and to follow the plays and players in the drama. It took me a while to get in synch with the operational […]

Victory to the People!

This has been great- a year that will stand forever as a triumph of what uncontrolled money and fervent ideology can do to the most prosperous society our species has produced. I have to stand in honor of the strategy that has brought us to this amazing time in America. I speak as a one-time […]

Point Loma: Hot ‘Lanta

Rep John Lewis (D) I was somewhat bemused but not unsurprised to see that Vic chose to write about the passing of John Lewis in “Information Operations” which is a great piece. I was thinking about doing the same, but for different, more personal reasons. It all sort of centers on Atlanta, doesn’t it, and […]

Swamp Postcard: The Lucky Man

I am a lucky man with a lot of good friends. I have pals who have experienced all sorts of amazing things. Some common, though still extraordinary. Miracles, really, like the creation and bearing of children. Relationships that worked extraordinarily well, and a testament to the human experience. And relationships that did not work, another […]

Socotra Daily: The Summer 2020 edition of MWSA’s Dispatches magazine

Socotra in Print Gentle Readers, I wrote a Socotra this morning, but went a little more hysterical than I chose to be these days. At least in public. If you care for that, it is posted at http://www.vicsocotra.com under the title “The Election.” I would rather highlight the good news that some crazy people have […]

Half-Way

I was going to call this “midway,” since it is just halfway through this summer of stress and lunacy, and it seems like a good nautical term to mark this point on the calendar. I was about to type the words when I realized a lot of acquaintances and occasional readers might think I was […]

Information Operations

(Former Representative John Lewis, RIP) John Lewis passed from this earth last night. He has been a part of my conscious life for a long time, and a man I admire even if he is no longer with us in being. With Dr. King, one of my heroes, Lewis was one of the “Big Six” […]