Skip to content
Andrew Tobias
Andrew Tobias

Money and Other Subjects

  • Home
  • Books
  • Videos
  • Bio
  • Archives
  • Links
  • Me-Mail
Andrew Tobias
Andrew Tobias

Money and Other Subjects

Two Civil Wars (One Fictional)

March 13, 2007January 8, 2017

ABSURDISTAN

I keep trying to decide whether to recommend this book. On the one hand, it’s a dazzling novel, hugely fun to listen to as read by Arte Johnson. On the other hand, to call it earthy would barely begin to raise the red flags. Oh, my. (And not, ‘oh, my, hot,’ oh, my, gross!) But this thing about Halliburton hieing to Dubai tipped me over the edge. Not to spoil the plot, but ‘Gollyburton’ (as Misha, our overweight protagonist, calls it) plays an important role among the Absurdstvanis.

CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY

Rolling Stone pulled together a roundtable to discuss scenarios for Iraq. It’s all worth reading, but in case you don’t have time, let me ruin your day with just a few snippets:

Former Senator Bob Graham: ‘If you’re looking for an analogy, it’s going to be a heightened version of the civil war that ravaged Lebanon for fifteen years.’

Gen. Tony McPeak (retired), Member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War: ‘Iran’s influence will have been increased geometrically. We’re already the losers in this, and now we become the big-time losers.’

Michael Scheuer, former chief of the CIA’s Osama bin Laden unit; author of Imperial Hubris: ‘The neoconservatives and their war in Iraq have made Israeli security worse than at any time since 1967.’

McPeak (again): ‘This is a dark chapter in our history. Whatever else happens, our country’s international standing has been frittered away by people who don’t have the foggiest understanding of how the hell the world works. America has been conducting an experiment for the past six years, trying to validate the proposition that it really doesn’t make any difference who you elect president. Now we know the result of that experiment [laughs]. If a guy is stupid, it makes a big difference.’

Tomorrow (which you can read today): Cash Versus Stocks and George’s Retirement Money

Post navigation

← Trust Your Common Sense
Magic Tweak and a Case for (Some) Cash →

Quote of the Day

"The future is disorder. A door like this had cracked open five or six times since we got up on our hind legs. It is the best possible time to be alive, when almost everything you thought you knew is wrong."

Tom Stoppard, Arcadia

Subscribe

 Advice

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need

"So full of tips and angles that only a booby or a billionaire could not benefit." -- The New York Times

Help

MYM Emergency?

Too Much Junk?

Tax Questions?

Ask Less

Recent Posts

  • "PAPERS PLEASE" -- Trump's Very Own Gigantic Police Force

    July 9, 2025
  • 5 Links And A Joke Walk Into A Bar

    July 8, 2025
  • There WAS No Cherry Tree

    July 7, 2025
  • "The Most Popular Bill Ever Signed In The History Of Our Country"

    July 6, 2025
  • Unbelievably Bad -- Literally

    July 4, 2025
  • Repeal The Steal

    July 2, 2025
  • Our Record-High Stock Market

    June 30, 2025
  • Stuffing The Goose

    June 30, 2025
  • Yes! (Plus A Bonus)

    June 29, 2025
  • How Does THAT Make You Feel . . .

    June 27, 2025
Andrew Tobias Books
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
©2025 Andrew Tobias - All Rights Reserved | Website: Whirled Pixels | Author Photo: Tony Adams