Rethinking Iraq War Books

This just in! For those of you who can't get enough of the details of my summer reading, I am dropping the Packer book and picking up my well-worn though never read from cover to cover copy of Street Without Joy. The Iraq War is just too recent, I suppose. Reading about characters that I have decided opinions on because of events that occurred in my lifetime is not quite as interesting as reading about people I don't know or am not as opinionated on. Guns of August is working out beautifully, partly due, I'm sure, to having only a limited knowledge of the details of the outbreak of WW1. The Bernard Fall book will be good, too. Loved his book on Dien Bien Phu. Have plowed through it twice in the last 10 years. He was a good writer, died too young.

One thing I did pick up from the first 75 pages of Packer's book, though, was the neocons who pushed for the Iraq War argued that a regime change in Iraq and the subsequent evolution there to a democracy would lead, in a sort of domino effect,  to the toppling of the other autocrats and dictators across the Arab world. This makes me wonder--did the Bush Doctrine lead to the recent 'Arab Spring'? Were Kristol, Wolfowitz et al. right after all? People smarter than me on this topic will have to sort out that answer, though...

War in Iraq

I have decided to tackle books on the war in Iraq as part of my summer reading. First up: The Assassin's Gate, George Packer, 2005. Obviously, this book is pre-surge, but I'm hoping it's a good account of the early part of the war. He wrote for The New Yorker, so it's got to be good, right?

And a word about stamps..

I collect used US to 1977. Why US? Well, I do live in the United States! Why used? Mint stamps are for using, museums, and dandies. Why 1977? That's where the second volume of the Scott National Album stops. I can't afford the subsequent pages, so there you go. Besides, the USPS in the 1990s and 2000s issued so many stamps I could probably never afford them all, even used. Maybe I can get this 1847-1977 collection as complete as possible..on a limited budget, of course!

Oxford Restaurants are too danged pricey

Look, I don't want to sound like the typical struggling parent complaining that it costs too much to go out, but Oxford has gone off the deep end. I went in the new pizza place on the square, looked at the menu, and left, secure in the knowledge that I had spent the only 5 seconds inside that place I will ever spend. A large pizza for 26 dollars? Maybe it's good, but I bet it ain't better-than-8-Red-Barons good. C'mon, man!

We all went out for breakfast one Saturday morning to a local breakfast eatery that appears to cater to Wall Street tycoons, rich retirees, and the tragically hip with no sense of quality. The coffee was 1.80 a mug. I don't care how many refills you get--at that price, I expect to see somebody go out back and pick some beans when I place my order! The total for 2 adults and two small children was 29.12 American. Friends, let me tell you where to get a good breakfast in Oxford--Kroger. The bacon, far superior in size and taste to the fatty, spicy stuff we had that Saturday morning, is only .79 for 3 slices. The donuts are the best in town--certainly the best chocolate glazed donut that, sadly, is not always available.

All I'm saying is this: I don't want to pay Manhattan prices to eat in a strip mall. I don't want to pay 26 dollars for a pizza for the privilege of being on the square. Yes, I know the folks who eat out in this town are generally those who can afford to pay the exorbitant prices charged, but this has gotten out of hand.

Introduction

My name is Dave Ray. I'm 45 years old, am married, and have two children. We live in Oxford, MS. I call this blog the Nocturnal Philatelist, because I generally only have time to pursue my hobbies, one of which is stamp collecting, after every one else has gone to bed. Good thing I'm not into monster trucks!