Great article from Rolling Stone on a decade of Lebowski
(Link)
Like a lemming, I came to Lebowski much too late. However, thanks to the miracle of Digital Video Disc (DVD) technology, I've been able to enjoy the film time and again. Likewise, Lebowski introduced me to the White Russian, my favorite winter drink.

Biden's Son to Deploy
(Link)
When elected officials like Ike Skelton, Duncan Hunter and Jim Webb talk about the Iraq war, I listen. These men have a little more investment in the issue because they have children who are in uniform who have deployed.

Adding a little spice to the 2008 presidential race comes the news that Senator Biden's son Beau (their names rhyme), will deploy as a JAG with the the 261st Signal Brigade. This comes at a time when Senator John McCain's son, Jimmy, is a U.S. Marine who has served in Iraq.

While the distinct lack of veterans in Congress is problematic, having outspoken elected officials fully invested in the process thanks to family service is a good thing. I'm a believer that Harry Wales service for Britain was a great thing, for this exact reason: amongst all uniformity and standardization, a single soldier can be a symbol for their nation.

Passing the Foreign Service Oral Assessment
Monday, I was fortunate enough to complete the run of the gambit that is the Foreign Service Officer selection process. It was a long process, but I'm thrilled with the results. More on this as Mrs. Morganobrien.com and I continue through the decision making process.

In the meantime, I found the following on-line information rather helpful in keeping me informed throughout the process:

The State Department's Web site has great information outlining the process.

The Foreign Service Journal ran this article (link), which in my opinion was the most comprehensive piece on the subject.

And both the New York Times and Washington Post recently ran interesting pieces on the subject.

Working at the US Mission gave me tremendous access to a number of FSOs, whom I could hound on a daily basis for info and insights. For those of you that don't have a daily interaction with our nation's diplomatic corps, Yahoo! has some great, semi-sanctioned user groups that provide a terriffic virtual world for knowledge sharing regarding both the written and oral exams

Some other blogs have some great info on the process, like:

Biesnicker.com

Life After Jerusalem

Satire Report

More on this surely to come...

With my greatest respect,
Morgan

Labels: Air Force