let me post this succession to my blog, lest i forget at some time in my life:

National Review - Jay Nordlinger - Impromptus - Feb. 20, 2003

Many of us, I know, are sickened by the repeated denigration of the Eastern European states that have supported the U.S. in this confrontation. A prominent left-wing journalist, as Mark Steyn pointed out, described the former Iron Curtain countries as nations “you can buy on e-bay.” And Mark Shields of CNN said, sarcastically, “Everyone’s feeling better. Albania signed on.”

This struck a nerve with me, as I was in Albania in September. I had never been to that country before. (Few of us Westerners have.) I met with many intellectuals and journalists. I met men who had been in prison for years, because they had dared to dissent from the brutal totalitarian regime that was ruling them. I was terribly moved by their expressions of support for America — and by their gratitude for the American role in opposing Soviet Communism. One intellectual told me that some other Europeans sneered at Albania as “the Israel of the Balkans.” I said he ought to consider that an enormous honor.

I have an Albanian flag — the double-headed eagle — “flying” in my office right now. And I am thrilled by the support and the heart of such people, for they know — more than people in Paris — about tyranny, freedom, and appeasement. In a way, I regard the support of Eastern Europeans as more desirable than the support of comfortable Westerners.

Mark Shields smirked, “Everyone’s feeling better. Albania signed on.” Well, I am.

National Review - Jay Nordlinger - Impromptus - Feb. 24, 2003

Check out this letter from an Albanian-American, typically moving:

“I wanted to say a couple of words about Mark Shields’s comments. For many, many years, I was shocked and surprised that in every election in Italy, the Communist party got 30-35 percent of the votes. That the French Communist party got 20 percent or more. Same in Spain and Portugal. In Greece, there were and still are two Communist parties, with 10 percent of the vote each.

“I was wondering why these people voted for Communism. We were a country of 3 million inhabitants with 30,000 political prisoners, 100,000 in reeducation camps and forced labor, and 10,000 executed. Churches and mosques were destroyed in the cultural revolution of 1968, and listening to rock ’n’ roll was punishable by jail. A family of four was entitled in a month to two pounds of beef, 24 eggs, half a pound of butter, 100 grams of coffee, half a liter of oil, and a pound of feta cheese. If police heard you complain about conditions, you got seven years in jail. In the meantime, millions of Western Europeans voted for Communism, over and over again.

“Four years ago, I bought a house and since then have been flying two flags at the entrance, an American flag and an Albanian flag. Both of them had been flying in my heart for many years, even in middle of a Communist dictatorship. (The Albanian flag, in my heart, was without the Communist star on top.)

“So, 3 million Albanians should mean something to Mark Shields. But, of course, they do not.

“P.S. Six months ago, I went to see a Rolling Stones concert with my brother. A dream came true, and my brother and I left the concert crying. It reminded us that not too long ago, listening to them was punishable by jail. When are people going to know about Communism? When?”

with that introduction out of the way, let me commence with post of substance #1.

i have no money. well, more acurately, i have negative money. don't cry for me, i live very well by my standards. in the past i have borrowed on credit cards i knew i couldn't repay, been late on the rent, lived on beans and rice and free apples from a roomates' parents' apple orchard. now i have tens of thousands of dollars in student loans to show for it, and thus my net worth is negative. but i am finally making an above-average paycheck, eating regularly, establishing a very small at home consulting business, and paying the bills on time with enough money to waste on pursuits such as home brewing left aside. and so i consider investing for the first time in my life. i have two thoughts on the subject. the first being that one cannot get rich without investing. the second being that as long as i am paying interest on debt, i should be paying towards eliminating that.

where the hell am i going with this, you ask, and why the hell should you care? well, i suppose you probably shouldn't care. but i bring this up in the context of this article. now, i am a big believer in the power of market economics as a tool to acchieve the results you want, both on a micro (i.e. not going back to the dry cleaner that ruined your suit) and macro (NAFTA-style) level. And it would cooincide wonderfully with my worldview, morals, market-economic thinking, and personal bank account augmentation to find a way to invest in these developing eastern european markets. i must do further research into the area and see if there is not some sort of mutual fund comprised of investments in these markets. i'd elaborate further, but that'll be enough stealing from my employer for the moment, i am headed home for the weekend.

welcome to egodelphia. i am your host, eric. i will not use capital letters unless for affect. i will drink coffee in large quantities.

those are the rules.

as your host, i shall introduce myself. you may see me trolling these waters on blogs such as "TKNation" from time to time, using the once-clever handle of SoulPole66, which i adopted for myself at some point in my life where i was concerned about internet anonymity. i must retain some slight subconcious concern, for i will not yet divulge my last name. i cannot see how there is anything to fear, as i would be pleasantly surprised if anyone took the time to peruse my blog, but i will remain semi-anonymous this way never the less.

many a blog i have perused here on blogger.com seems to dwell on the fact that there are no readers. one side of me contends that i should somehow be different. the other, much more dominant side, says that i, too, will make a point of noting again and again how i am writing this for no one, and if that turns the occasional reader away, then so be it.

anyways, for those who know me on any level it will not be difficult to figure out who i am. for the great masses of the one or two individuals who stumble in here, however, they will be left with my discription of myself, which of course will be part and parcel a complete fabrication, but what are you gonna do about it? my goal is to write daily, but, undoubtedly, when some poor soul does indeed stumble in here months from now, the cobwebs and dust will have taken over. if not, however, then yay for me!!!

i do not intend this to become a diary, for my life is, taken on whole, exceedingly dull. however, i will relate those events which amuse, enlighted, or distress me greatly as i go along. i intend to comment on news, sports, politics, television, hot chicks, economics, history, and post links to interesting web sites and articles (although i must confess you will be forced to discover the best porn links on your own for fear i confirm everyone's deepest suspicions about my viewing habits.) i had intended to provide a brief exposition to myself, my life, political viewpoints and favoite muppets here, but i think it may be more interesting to develop these things over the course of time, don't you think? if you are still reading, then i am very impressed. i certainly hope you will stick around, for between all the gibberish you are certain to find an item of interest here and there.

if at any point someone does stumble in here, please, i implore you. make my day by dropping an e-mail to SoulPole_66@yahoo.com (an appropriately anonymous e-mail account) and let me know what a dope i am. i thank you in advance.