I knew it before I reported. I am terminally male, and a white one at that. I am not a good pick to be  member of a jury. I am crippled by my career, which was spent in the intelligence world. No defense attorney in his right mind would put me on a jury. But […]

Prisoners Prisoner Montoya was in the courtroom when fifty prospective jurors filed into Courtroom 600, on the 6th floor of the Albert V. Bryan Federal Courthouse in Alexandria. I was surprised at that. But I confess that I was surprised at just about every step in the process that had brought us together. There were […]

I am commanded to report to room 302 in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of Virginia this morning, not later than 0845. There is no place to park, they say, and recommend public transit to arrive. I have an alternative to my civic duty, which is a $100 fine or three days in […]

The National Guard It eluded me last week, the significance of the stories in the press that indicated they are calling the National Guard home from Iraq. In 2004, the Guard and mobilized reserves were over half the fighting force on the ground there. Army sources indicated the Guard would largely be phased out of […]

Little Secrets Katherine Hepburn once observed: “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” She is right, on so many levels. But in the course of having our fun, we construct an alternate world, the one in which we can do what we want. In that construction we place our little secrets, […]

22 September 2006 Social Convention They have cut a deal on the Hill between the Senate and the White House. Senators McCain, Warner and Graham joined in saying to say that some things were wrong, and others not. The White House seemed to have got some flexibility, and conceded that evidence held against accused should […]

Foreign and Domestic It is cold and dank this morning, the dawn pushing against thick gray clouds that are advancing against it. The result is a cold dark swirl that is growing light only by increments. It is cold again, and I shiver against the breeze that leaks through the open windows. It is a […]

I got a note from an old pal, asking me if the newly nominated Director of the Central Intelligence Agency was actually Sterling Hayden, the veteran character actor who appeared in Doctor Strangelove. I didn’t think so, but I checked to make sure. That simple request wound up in an impassioned response that ran five […]

After the Gold Cup I participated in the Virginia Gold Cup experience out in Loudoun County yesterday, the traditional beginning of the outdoors social season, the well-heeled on promenade under a blazing sun with thundering horses and social tents and ladies in hats . . . I saw my son out there, in one of […]

Peak Oil I did not have the energy to leap out of bed this morning. I crawled to the kitchen to put on the coffee, and then crawled down the hallway and slithered back up into the bed. It is nice there, under the eiderdown, with the windows open and the fresh breath of spring […]