NickS writes: Both genuinely affecting:

So here are a couple of true USAID stories -- one political, one personal.

The political one first. I worked for years in the small former Soviet republic of Moldova.

Moldova happened to be one of the few parts of the old USSR suitable for producing wine. The other was Georgia, in the Caucasus.

The Soviets, in their central planning way, decided that both Moldova and Georgia would produce wine -- but Georgia would produce the good stuff, intended for export and for consumption by Soviet elites. Moldova would produce cheap sweet reds, which is what most Russians think wine is.

Heebie's take: It's a really good, quick post - go read it.

I keep reading how destroying USAID is the one thing the American public is totally on board with, and that is just so goddamn depressing. It speaks to how long ago we lost the messaging war and the war for people's attention.

Per request!