(‘Big Smoke’ Tom Duvall at his desk in Yokosuka, Japan, 1950. There were challenges in The Occupation, and some of them came from a variety of directions). Editor’s Note: The missive below is from “Big Smoke” LCDR Tom Duval, USN-Ret., to a former Director of Naval Intelligence. For many of us, that DNI defined the […]

This is a great image of a Naval Intelligence professional. It is a professional record of how he looked when he was working. Tom “Big Smoke” Duvall. It was an honor to have known him. He is representative of a class of government specialists who could do whatever it was necessary to do. Tom retired […]

So, this morning we want to convey some truths blasted out in a profusion of “news.” The first is not on CNN or Fox. It is the pair of birthdays, one today and one tomorrow, that has The Chairman wired up in memory. He was all smiles, telling the story of the Doctor who looked […]

There has been a storm of old and new paperwork at Big Pink. We have mentioned that the search for documents regarding the purchase of the new condo turned up some other documents from the same chaotic phase of life. The mortgage people were quite insistent about seeing old Decrees and current statements of worth. […]

It took a while to figure it out with the first cup of Chock Full O’ Nuts and the first couple Marlboro butts. For example, this morning featured both lights and sirens. Big Pink was constructed as a Landmark project back during the abrupt end of the Kennedy Administration. Then-Speaker of the House, Mr. Carl […]

More fun this morning. The Debt Bomb, similar to what the Experts have called the Bomb Cyclone, apparently went off overnight. That phenomenon occurs when a large, intense mid-latitude storm with low pressure at its center spins off weather fronts with a remarkable array of associated weather. Here in Arlington this morning it amounts only to […]

(This low-resolution image is used only to celebrate the Chief Executives of the United States, Canada and Mexico. They recently gathered in Mexico City for a conference of the three nations. Their DNA is discussed below, with the admonition that views expressed are not necessarily those of the Socotra House LLC Management due to Article […]

(This image is of the memorial to Dr. King on the Mall in Washington DC. We like this one, and choose to run it today instead of the more stylized one unveiled in Boston this weekend. There is some controversy about the design of that one, and we prefer the resolute character of the one […]

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed below are those of the authors and do not necessary express the views of Socotra House Publishing. They are not an argument against climate change, since it does, but rather an expression of dismay that we are embarking on a series of radical and dramatic social changes without demonstrating that they […]

OK, it is a little warmer out on the balcony this morning. The previous cold hanging over us had artificially extended the holiday regime (for some) all the way from Thanksgiving through the Epiphany, with a last surge to commemorate the legacy of Dr. King. That required libations from the Belmont Farm Distillery in Culpeper. […]