Talkin' Shit About A Pretty Sunset

Face it, a coup is exciting business.

Who could forget the failed attempt in the USSR in 1991 in which my one-time hero, Sir Boris Yeltsin, was holed up in the Russian parliament building for a week. When the press managed to get in for an interview, the world saw the tough-as-nails Yeltsin and his suit-wearing buddies wielding AK-47s behind sandbags blocking the doorways. When the reporter got to Yeltsin, we all saw the future president of Russia relaxing in his office with a bottle of vodka, calmly talking about the enemies of democracy. I still have the whole episode on tape whenever I need real inspiration.

And I'll never forget clinking glasses with my Venezuelan friends in April of 2002 when we thought the tyrannical asswipe, Hugo Chavez, was soon bound for the ash heap of history. We were wrong in our assumptions, but the excitement in the air was fun nonetheless.

When democracy becomes unruly enough, who better to take power than the true stalwarts of the democratic process: the monarch and the military.

To Americans, a coup d'etat is as foreign as the 30 hour workweek, a warm beer, or the six week vacation, but this type of necessary evil happens all the time---almost once a month in Africa. And now the State Department is issuing a travel warning to Americans (me) with plans to visit Thailand. Useless. Last I checked, the State Department had a warning for half the countries on the planet. No wonder only 15% of Americans even own a passport.

Change is in the air, people ...