Friday, September 18, 2026

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Dook Snyder

Unfortunately I’m one of the Snyders who don’t make pretzels. My Dad, Alexander’s claim to fame was seeing Carl Erskine pitch a no hitter for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field which is why he named me Dook, and in the process caused me major grief. A car mechanic, he thought he was funnier than he really was and would drag me to comedy clubs and to the Catskills. My Mom, Gail, taught second grade and treated my Dad like the second grader he often was. I work for an agency that wouldn’t be happy if I told you which one it was but know that I have come to love the Berkshires and have a second home here.

written articles

Smoke Signals from the Swamp: Comey on Comey in ‘A Higher Loyalty’

Critical reviews of “A Higher Loyalty” are easy to find. Instead, I’m going to offer some excerpts many critics have neglected—reminiscences that reveal why James Comey has become the man he is, providing perspective about why he responded the way he did to the Clinton email investigation and the improper demands of Donald Trump.

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump’ by Michael Isikoff and David Corn

Isikoff and Corn try to answer an essential question: Why is Trump so enamored of Putin? So willing to turn a blind eye to Russia’s efforts to sabotage American democracy, so unwilling to strike back when he continually brags about his commitment to answer every blow with 10?

Smoke Signals from the Swamp: Kushner, the Mercers and Cambridge Analytica – Round One

As you continue to read, I want you to imagine an iceberg. Both Forbes and the New York Times thought they were being told, and telling us, the true story of Cambridge Analytica. But they and we saw only a small portion of what Cambridge Analytica wanted us to see.

Smoke Signals from the Swamp: Connecting the Kushner dots

“Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience." --- The Washington Post

Smoke Signals from the Swamp: The Russians and their trolls

There really was, the Justice Department is saying, a Russian influence operation to interfere in the U.S. political system during the 2016 presidential election, and it really was at the expense of Hillary Clinton and in favor of Donald Trump.

Enough

It didn’t take long for me to realize that the young adults of Parkland were cutting through the layers of despair I had built up all these years. They were telling their truth with passion and conviction.

Smoke Signals from the Swamp: The Son-in-Law

With all the talk about the varied skills of Corey Lewandoski, Paul Manafort and Steve Bannon, who took turns steering the Trump campaign, many were surprised by the title of the Nov. 22, 2016, Forbes article: “How Jared Kushner Won Trump the White House.”

A NOVEL: Over the Edge, Chapter 2

Peter had known this Sergey for many years. They met first in Berlin, became reacquainted in Managua, ran into each other in Zurich and then under orders from Putin, Sergey had him escorted from his apartment under guard to the Moscow airport.

BOOK REVIEW: The Unbearable Madness in ‘Fire and Fury, Inside the Trump White House’

I, for one, am extremely grateful that Wolff managed to survive the mental torture that is apparently the way of the current White House. A lesser man or woman would have thrown his notebook to the floor and run to the hills after the first day.

BOOK REVIEW: In ‘Collusion’ Guardian reporter makes case for Russian manipulation of Trump

In “Collusion” Luke Harding helps us appreciate our adversaries and their uniquely Russian way of complex manipulation, their dark dedication to the long game.

Smoke Signals from The Swamp: Carter Page

Like many of our protagonists, Carter Page's story keeps changing. He didn’t meet with Russians. He did meet with Russians. Nothing happened. Or maybe something did happen.

Smoke Signals from the Swamp: The fall of Flynn

General Flynn is inextricably woven into the story of Donald Trump and Russia. And nothing reveals the important role he has played more clearly than the efforts President Trump made to convince FBI Director James Comey not to dig too deeply into what Flynn might have done.

Smoke Signals from The Swamp: Meet General Michael Flynn

"As conflict between states evolves, the cyberspace is becoming an increasingly vital component of strategy and doctrine for war fighting." -- General Michael Flynn, former Trump National Security Advisor

Smoke signals from The Swamp: F.O.R. – Part I: Tillerson & ExxonMobil

I’m not going to be the one to tell you Russia picked Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. But the combined intelligence services of our government will.

Smoke signals from The Swamp: ‘The Trumpettes’

Like father, like daughter. Ivanka sells stuff made in China, and pays them crap to make it. The scam is she pretends to care about equal pay for women.
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