5 Things on a Friday: The Battle for Number 2

This turned into an unexpectedly interesting week.  Let’s get to it, shall we?

5 Things on a Friday: The Return of Darth Jar Jar

I don’t know about you, but I thought it was tough this week coming back from Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving was never much of a holiday in my house growing up, but now that I have my own household, we’ve made it pretty great.  Coming back after five full days of family and feast was not as easy as it might have been.

Well.  The work week is almost over.  That’s something, right?  

Let’s get to it.

5 Things on a Friday: Christmas is Coming!

Keeping it short this week.  Here's hoping your Thanksgiving kicked ass.

1-hr, 25-min: 1st flip. #turkeyprep #Thanksgiving2015 pic.twitter.com/07VuDIqpnK

— Dan Head (@Dan_T_Head) November 26, 2015

5 Things on a Friday: Hoping for an Opportunity

My first draft of got a little jingoistic this week.  Perhaps that's inevitable in the wake of the Paris attacks and the other, also very considerable attacks that hit Beirut and that Russian plane in Egypt.  I find myself uncomfortable calling for a war in which I am extremely unlikely to fight--although, who knows, right?--but it feels like we may yet have an opportunity here.  This might be one of those moments in which we can achieve regional consensus and act, even if that consensus is short-lived and entirely self-serving on all sides.

Consider: Russia, Britain, and the U.S. were not all fast friends in the late 1930s and early 40s.  In fact, the allies invaded Russia in 1917 to try to oust the Communists.  The smarter half of the American public was keenly aware of the British interest in maintaining its colonial presence in North Africa and elsewhere--and distinctly un-interested in the ramifications this held for our collective strategy.  These differences were real.  It’s hard to say what would have happened had Japan not blundered its way into attacking Pearl Harbor in 1941.  However, the resulting three-way alliance fought a relatively unified and collective war that defeated its enemies and set the course for the modern world.

On Intervention in Syria

I'm gonna go ahead and say this now just to get it on record before the war starts.  I don't want you guys to think I'm un-American in wartime, but now, before the war starts and while we're still debating the proper course of action, now is the proper time to express an opinion.

This attack on Syria is a stupid, stupid idea.

And I'm annoyed at our so-called liberal President for his apparent close-mindedness on the issue.