Vic Socotra – Page 238

September 23, 2019 Vic Socotra

Arrias: Navy Leadership Unconcerned

I had a commanding officer who used to regularly quote Vice Admiral Buckeley, his favorite one being: “I’ve seen clean ships that couldn’t fight, but I’ve never seen a dirty one that could.” Bulkeley, who commanded Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 in the Philippines at the start of WWII, would go on to have 11 […]

September 21, 2019 Vic Socotra

Point Loma: Iron Dome

Iron Dome: Have Your Abqaiq, and Eat It, Too Editor’s Note:The season is changing here in the country. Like all veteran crisis junkies, the current multi-level, multi-arena crises in progress have me galvanized. The best way to deal with this reality is to take a deep, cleansing breath and turn to WETA on the cable […]

September 18, 2019 Vic Socotra

Swamp Postcard: Water Rising?

(New National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien) So, apparently there was not enough going on here in The Swamp and we had to step it up again. At some point, perhaps sanity will return, but I am not expecting anything much until a year for November. And goodness knows what is going to happen after that. […]

September 17, 2019 Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Ass Pocket of Whiskey

Long ago when I lived in the deep south and worked as a migratory construction worker, I bought and drank my first ass pocket of whiskey (an 8 ouncer) at a gasoline station. The job site and the rental trailer I lived in were way out in the sticks, there were no bars or roadhouses […]

September 17, 2019 Vic Socotra

News Alert

I confess to being in a mild state of alert shock- I was barely over the Hurricane Hysteria. But what an interesting week. I was going to try to salvage something witty and acerbic out of the loss of 50% of Saudi Arabia’s oil export capability, the uncertainty about the loss of what amounts to […]

September 16, 2019 Vic Socotra

Arrias: Iran: Blood Feud

Henry Ford famously noted that: “History is bunk.” Hmmm… On 14 September Houthis rebels (from Yemen), a de facto proxy force of the government of Iran, attacked the largest single oil refinery complex in the world – the Abqaiq complex in eastern Saudi Arabia, about 40 miles southwest of Dhahran. The specifics are still not […]

September 15, 2019 Vic Socotra

Point Loma: Abqaiq

Editor’s Note: For anyone still alive, and driving, who experienced the OPEC Oil Shock of 1973, take this news on. If we were still dependent on Saudi oil, you can only imagine the impact on next week’s commute would be. Or the lines for gas, or the odd-even license plate day nonsense. Taking half of […]

September 11, 2019 Vic Socotra

A Day Like No Other

Dad used to talk about one of the days that seared itself into his memory. The Empire of Japan struck the naval base at Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December 1941, killing about 2,000 sailors and Marines, and throwing an enormous curve at the men and women who would have to live through 1942 […]

September 10, 2019 Vic Socotra

Point loma: The Handshake

There’s a semi-historical, famous scene from Ocean’s 13, in which Danny Ocean (George Clooney) excoriates Willy Bank (Al Pacino) when he accuses him on reneging on a gentleman’s deal by destroying a landmark hotel-casino owned by Reuben (Elliott Gould), stating “You shook Sinatra’s hand, you should have known better.” I normally don’t like George but […]

September 9, 2019 Vic Socotra

Gentle Spirit

Over the last half century or so as a fully enfranchised citizen, I have made a couple observations of life on this planet, at least one of which I will not trouble you. There is plenty of time for that. It has been amazing to have traveled the political terrain over which we walk today. […]

Author: Vic Socotra