Roman Empire Blog

Nov 4, Bad Things Happen on Nov 4, 2009Voters do stupid things, sometimes, like return Republicans to the majority because Democrats in the County Legislature were unable to stop the Republican executive from raising taxes: the Republican minority sustained his vetoes. The Republicans mad...

Oct 30, The Pentagon's Perpetual Employment Plan on Oct 30, 2009Ike predicted something like this: give the military a huge establishment, and it will find justification for it--way into the future. A Pentagon protege of Generals Petraeus and McChrystal has found a way. Dr. David Kilcullen posits The Long War as...

Oct 23, Headlong Into Afghanistan on Oct 23, 2009'What we did today was to discuss General McChrystal's overall assessment, his overall approach, and I have noted a broad support from all ministers of this overall counterinsurgency approach," said NATO secretary general, Anders Rasmussen, who has f...

Oct 21, US Politics Could Doom the World on Oct 21, 2009The News isn't good: everywhere you look, except the crazy stock market. Profit increases reported by many corporations are not from sales, but because of layoffs--cutting labor costs to the bone. The banks reporting high profits: JP Morgan-Chase,...

Oct 19, Go Deep: Afghan Exit Strategy? on Oct 19, 2009A Defense Intelligence Agency officer, Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, is arguing against not only a troop buildup in Afghanistan, but for withdrawal of most troops except Special Forces teams, and training/security units in Kabul. He proposes a shift from...

Oct 16, Depressons are Good for the Army on Oct 16, 2009And Navy, Marines, and Air Force. All met their recruiting goals for the first time since the military went to an all-volunteer force in 1971. It's not a coincidence that this depression/recession is the deepest since the Great Depression, and that u...

Oct 15, Global Warming Must Change Us on Oct 15, 2009Today is blog action day, drawing attention to global warming: http://www.blogactionday.org The Earth is warming. But last night in the Hudson valley, it was in the 20's F.; snow is predicted. It's too early for winter; overall warming doesn't resul...