(Jon-without sets up an impromptu phone booth and compliance space inside the front door at Willow last night. Photo Chanteuse Mary). Yesterday’s story regarded the round of severe budget cuts that are coming to the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. It prompted a couple thoughtful replies, which naturally I ignored. Hahaha- no, the […]

(General Martin Dempsey, CJCS, talks to reporters about that boring budget crap. Photo ABC). We are at the point where we really ought to get a cup of Starbucks and talk about where we are going. I am deliberately staying away from talking about the health care thing, except to note that it clearly is […]

(ATN Aries MK 410 Spartan NVG rifle scope). I heard the first gunshot of this deer-hunting season yesterday around 0550. I was mildly surprised, since it was still as dark as the inside of a black cat on a moonless night. Actually, it was two shots, blam blam. Then silence. It looked like someone got […]

(Mac and Elizabeth-with-an-S at Willow). It is the start of deer season here this morning. I have heard no gunfire, though I have been listening, and am going to avoid going in the woods for the rest of the month. In the spirit of the hunting season, and the astonishing developments back up North in […]

(Naval Intelligence legend and Babe Magnet Admiral “Mac” Shower with The Lovely Bea at the Willow, 2011. Photo Socotra). I spent a couple minutes yesterday bringing you up to speed on the scandals plaguing Naval Intelligence at the moment. There are two, events of which are unheard of, in my time in the business. One […]

It is past time to talk about it. You know what I mean, if you have been following any of the revelations that are sending shock-waves through the Navy in the Pacific, and like a Tsunami, the reverberations are stirring the normally placid brown water of the Potomac. I have no idea who these guys […]

Looking at the vast homes in Palmer Woods- particularly the former Archbishop’s 62-room mansion, I could feel the dream stirring. At various times I have felt it palpably. Staying downtown a couple years ago, I looked at some of the Beaux Arts skyscrapers that are vacant now. I walked into the Golden Tower of the […]

There is a lot to process this morning. The basic stats? Easy: 536.4 miles in 8 hours and fifteen minutes, with a net Speed of Advance (SOA) of 64 mph, including two gas-and-comfort stops. Ohio is still flat and Pennsylvania isn’t. There were a lot of miles in a short time, but I escaped just […]

I had drinks and dinner with an old comrade and his lovely daughter last night. We were at Willow, of course, though I mention that only in passing. I will not provide a detailed blow-by-blow on the meal that consisted of the extraordinary award-winning Willow Burger, local hormone-free beef on house-made potato bun garnished with […]

(Brett the bartender created this for The Lovely Bea. The maraschino cherries and lime form the image of a praying mantis, which is not illegal under current Virginia law. Photo Socotra). Old Jim and I were the first ones there. Jim was holding court in his usual seat, and I had the stool on the […]