Robert P. Baird
From Ray Walser at, naturally, The Corner:
Congress, the courts, and the military joined forces to send [Honduran President] “Mad” Mel [Zelaya] packing. In a deliberate, bipartisan manner, they selected a new president to serve until regular elections in November.
And for the reality-based among us, here are the first 3 parts of the OAS resolution condemning the coup—
1. To condemn vehemently the coup d’état staged this morning against the constitutionally-established Government of Honduras, and the arbitrary detention and expulsion from the country of the constitutional president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales, which has produced an unconstitutional alteration of the democratic order.
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Robert P. Baird

1/ From “Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera,” a short story in Ben Fountain’s Brief Encounters with Che Guevara:
Some evenings Alberto joined them, usually when one of his interviews was being broadcast; he’d settle onto the steps with a mug of tea and listen to himself lecturing the country on historical inevitability or the Bolivarian struggle or the venemous strategies of the World Bank. After one such broadcast he turned to Blair.
“So, Joan Blair, what do you think of our position?”
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Robert P. Baird

After a couple of weeks of bicoastal back-and-forthing, I’ve finally landed in my new home in Seattle, and while I can’t speak for the rest of the digital emunctorate, with a little luck and a lot of goodwill from Qwest Communications this afternoon, I should be back and posting soon. For now I leave you with this photo of my latest invention, which has, for the nonce, solved two pressing problems: too many book boxes and too few couches.
Michael Hansen

Though I am no expert, I am an enthusiast of bourbon. And I like to sample. So when I go to the giant Binny’s in the West Loop, I always make a point of getting the opinion of one or two resident aficionados, and sometimes I sidle up to the bar, where one can sample even the expensive stuff without dropping sixty or seventy (or ninety) bucks. I have a few favorites, but since I am yet a young man I try to get something entirely new every second or third visit. Well, I have something to report.
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