Editorial

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Barn Burning

BARN BURNING

Around 1848, the Democratic Party in New York State was split into two factions over the issue of slavery. The moderate of the two factions (called the “Hunkers”) wanted to “hunker down” and hope that the issue of slavery would disappear or resolve itself somehow without leading to war. The more radical of the two factions were the Barnburners who wanted to rid the country of slavery so badly that they were willing to destroy the Democratic Party in the...

Second Amendment Blues

SECOND AMENDMENT BLUES

This is a common sense appeal to ban the sale and eventual possession of assault weapons in the U.S. for other than law enforcement and military uses. It also supports a ban on those aftermarket accessories such as bump stocks that enhance the lethality of unmodified weapons. It does not impede or criminalize the possession of other weapons typically used for self-defense, hunting or sport shooting within federal and state laws. Assault weapons that are privately owned can be retrieved...

“ROT IN HELL . . . MERRY CHRISTMAS”

With this benediction, GOP frontrunner for president Donald J. Trump (DJT) sent Yuletide blessings to his friends, his foes, or to no one in particular. On Christmas Day, these bitter words were included in a repetition of grievances whether real or imagined as posted on his Truth Social platform. I discussed his posting with my wife Deena and we wondered what people might have thought had we signed our Christmas cards this same way: “Have a Merry Christmas~Rot in Hell.”...

A former president feels the heat

A FORMER PRESIDENT FEELS THE HEAT

The news so far this week (ending October 28, 2023) is not good for Donald J. Trump.  In the past several days, three attorneys have entered into plea bargain agreements with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the Georgia Election Racketeering Investigation.  The first is Sidney Powell, who Trump announced shortly after the election of 2020[1] was representing him. However, Mr. Trump is now stating that he never, in fact, hired her.  The second attorney who entered a plea was Kenneth Chesebro who worked as an outside advisor for...

Жизнь человека – это выбор

Есть несколько вещей, которыми я хотел бы поделиться с моими русскими читателями. Для тех, кто впервые на этом сайте, я просто старый человек, который видел много войн, много трагедий и слишком много душевной боли. Я хотел бы видеть будущее, которое будет безопасным для всех, включая моих детей и внуков. Я думаю, что этого хотели бы и русские деды для своих семей и для всего мира. Молодые люди амбициознее нас, они хотят власти, популярности, богатства, возможно, даже исправить древние ошибки. Я...

Empty barrels make the most noise.

EMPTY BARRELS MAKE THE MOST NOISE

I grew up on a resort in the mountains, and we’d have a dozen barrel-sized trash cans filled with kitchen waste behind the dining hall building. There were always a few empty cans as well. We’d also be visited regularly by black bears in the middle of the night. When the bears tipped over the cans that were full, you would not be able to hear them because the contents of the can would muffle the sound. But when they...

МАТЬ РОССИЯ

Лидеры семи африканских стран призвали сегодня президента России Владимира Путина прекратить войну в Украине, ссылаясь на “большую нестабильность и вред для различных стран по всему миру”. Это происходит на фоне того, что президент Путин подтвердил начало размещения тактического ядерного оружия в Беларуси. Это не приближает мир к миру. Для большей части мира (включая Запад) нестабильность, о которой говорил президент ЮАР Сирил Рамафоса, исходит, я полагаю, от экономических санкций. Для Африки вред исходит от повсеместного голода. Сегодня я прочитал, что в...

Lord of the flies

LORD OF THE FLIES

One of my favorite books growing up was William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Possibly, some of you are not familiar with this work. Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first novel, and he would go on to eventually win a Nobel Prize for literature (in 1983.) I’d like to use Golding’s work and this post to illustrate how post-modern societies devolve into tribalism when sufficiently stressed, using the U.S. as a case study. In the instance of the U.S.,...

DJT: Hammer of God?

THE HAMMER OF GOD?

Last weekend, Donald J. Trump, the forty-fifth President of the U.S. spoke at a scaled down annual convention of political conservatives.  Known as CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee), the one-time president had received warm welcomes there before.  Last weekend was no exception as candidate Trump was in fine form. Could this man really lead us? Is he a prophet? The hammer of God? If you expected that a leopard can readily change its spots (Jeremiah 13:23), you were likely disappointed.  Mr. Trump launched...

THE END OF INNOCENCE

You may have seen recent references to Winnie the Pooh or the early version of Mickey Mouse, known almost a century ago as Steamboat Willie.  These cultural icons are making the news because they are soon to be (if not already) in the public domain.  This means that within certain guidelines or restrictions, people can use these caricatures for their own private purposes. Perhaps someone may wish to advertise their day care center or babysitting service with a cartoon of Winnie the Pooh.  Someone...