There was a late night phone call. It was the President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Hu Jintao. He wanted to chat about Taiwanese independence. I’m glad he didn’t call me at that hour. I doubt if I could have fumbled for the briefing book and mouthed the words “Well, Hu, I reckon […]

It is two days to the Solstice, the start of Winter, and five to Christmas. I am a little blurry, not much, from the Coconut Rum and ginger ale cocktails that John had been serving at his party down the hall. He was half of a sweet young couple starting out bravely in the world. […]

It is Friday and it is cold. It is also nearing seven am, and I am, as usual, way behind. The sun is going to be up in twenty-two minutes and the day will be shortest on rthe 22nd. I like the symetry. I had intended to plug out a story this morning. All the […]

They tried to get the replica Wright Flyer to fly at Kitty Hawk yesterday, but it didn’t work. It was raining, which made the replica heavier, and the launch rail had more resistance, and although the front end pitched up briefly, they couldn’t get it airborne on two tries. There were over 35,000 people there […]

They flew a hundred years ago, just about the time this flew into your in-box. The stern brothers with their celluloid collars, sons of the Bishop, eager to get home for the holidays. They flew through the experiment, both the brothers getting two hops in. When the kite flipped over after Wilbur’s longest flight, they […]

The Wright Brothers flew this week a century ago, and we can forgive the Brazilians and the New Zelanders who phlegratically say that their native sons were actually the first to right a heavier-than-air machine into the heavens. Or a couple feet above the sands at Kitty Hawk, in the case of the Wrights. “Wind […]

The Saddam thing is still rolling over everyone this morning. The comenators can�t talk about anything else. The deposed dictator and newest Federal Prisoner is unlocated. He may be in Qatar, or someplace undisclosed. Maybe Guantanamo by now. His last words in the wild are reported as being “I am the President of Iraq and […]

George Washington, Prince Albert and Andrie Sakarov all died on the 14th of December, perhaps agitated by the approach of the holidays. Maybe their shopping wasn’t done. I was in pretty good shape in that regard. I rose this morning to contemplate the mystery of the coming days, and to turn a weather eye to […]

The New Year is coming, like it or not. I was sitting in the watch turn-over meeting at the Department yesterday morning. They do it at ten because the Watch Center that coordinates Homeland Security is in the District, and you can’t get there at rush hour. By ten, most people have got themselves sorted […]

We killed a bunch of kids in Afghanistan yesterday, the second group of youngsters we inadvertently blew away in as many days. The wounded in the bombings at Mosul and Red Square have barely got the stitches in, and off we go again. There is something abroad in the land. The Democrats barely won the […]