Saturday, June 28, 2025

Operation Whisper


The neighbors next door--how much do you really know about them? For all you know, they could be just who they say they are. On the other hand, they could be, they just might be, spies. 

Turns out, that's exactly who Morris and Lona Cohen were, operating deep under cover for years both in the United States and in Great Britain.

Very well written, Carr's book made me think twice about what motivates people to betray the very same countries to which they owed so much. 

Friday, June 20, 2025

Hitler's American Friends

There are many who believe Trump's appearance on the national stage marks a disturbing trend towards fascism in America. But as Hart points out in Hitler's American Friends, Americans have had a peculiar fascination with fascism since the 1930s. A precursor to Rachel Maddow's more recent treatment of the subject in her book Prequel, I found Hart's earlier account as readable as it is informative.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

VA Democratic Primary


Served as an election officer in yesterday's Democratic Primary here in Virginia. Here are my takeaways from yesterday's turnout:

1) People really need to check to see where they are supposed to vote BEFORE they go to the polls! I wish I had a dollar for every voter who showed up at the wrong precinct. 🙂

2) People also need to check to see if they are properly registered to vote, especially if they have recently changed addresses and/or names.

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Corpus Clock

This last image from England was taken just moments before I hopped into an Uber ride after dinner at King's College: 

"The Corpus Clock, also known as the Grasshopper clock, is a large sculptural clock at street level on the outside of the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, at the junction of Bene't Street and Trumpington Street, looking out over King's Parade. It was conceived and funded by John C. Taylor, an old member of the college.

It was officially unveiled to the public on 19 September 2008 by Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking. The clock was named one of Time's Best Inventions of 2008." -- Wikipedia