What's AIDS?

C. Everett Koop wrote the AIDS report himself, in a basement, and handed out numbered copies so no one could edit it. Then he mailed it to every household in America.

Five Grams

D.A.R.E. didn't work, its founder wanted casual users shot, and the 1986 drug law was written in a few months after one death. The war on drugs, 1982 to 1990.

Halloween Notes

Halloween is different when you have a very reactive dog, so you have to resort to strategy to avoid all the barking. I pick up a guitar and enjoy myself as a street performer for a day.

October 31, 2026 - Week in Review

Sweaty and the Dude had things to say, week of October 24 - 31

Music: A two-fer, Gamazda and Angel Vivaldi

Still avoiding the electioneering and punditry overdosing on hopium, here are two songs I think you will enjoy...

The Word "Laboratory"

Reagan called the Soviets the focus of evil, then nearly gave away every nuclear weapon in sight. His own cabinet said whoa, whoa, not like that.

Music: Robyn Adele Anderson

Definitely not AI slop, Robyn brings a fun flair to classics

The Letter and the Ultimatum

PATCO endorsed Reagan, got a letter promising cooperation, and was decertified by October 1981. The law was the stated reason. The message to private employers was the point.

The Trojan Horse

In December 1982, unemployment hit 10.8%, the worst since the Depression, sixteen months after Reagan took office. The tax cut came first. The pain came after.

I need an intervention (again)

I need to schedule an intervention, the temptation to buy a new guitar is overwhelming...

October 24, 2026 - The Week in Review

Posts from the week of October 17 thorugh October 24, 2026

Are You Better Off

Eleven days separated Reagan's most contested states' rights speech from the religious right's biggest rally of the campaign. That wasn't a coincidence historians agree on, but it wasn't nothing either.