Writing Good
George Orwell . . . Animal Farm . . . Politics. The Eton-honed author wrote some marvelously good books and essays, and if you enjoy reading but haven’t yet sampled any of his work, shame on you. Granted, his oeuvre (how’s that for a $5.00 word?) walks a rather dark path at times, but much...
The Irrelevant in the Room
It’s been half a year since I wrote these few paragraphs. In the intervening months, the GOP has wrung their hands dry attempting to figure out what happened in the November, 2012 election, and how to “fix” things so they can run the government once again. As a result, I’ve updated a few things....
Guns, A Continuing Discussion Pt. 8
One dictionary defines anecdote as: “a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.” There’s a tendency to reduce the validity of anecdotes when they’re used within an argument or debate, which is unfortunate, because anecdotes are often told from a first-person perspective, and we all live life from a...
Guns, A Continuing Discussion Pt. 7
Today we consider, once again, the wholesomeness of the National Rifle Association. I’ll leave it to your own reading schedule to peruse the article, but I’ll simply add a suggestion: I propose that Middle and High schools throughout our country initiate Gun Shop classes, just like we (folks my age) had Wood Shop, Metal...
Guns, A Continuing Discussion Pt. 3
The following post shares my comments from a correspondence with a dear friend regarding the horror that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I include it here because I think it’s relevant to our Village. My initial reply: I agree with you on almost everything you’ve written, and the part with which I...
Please Don’t Let It Break
Please Don’t Let It Break. If, on some sunny, cheerful morn, the bridge I happen to be traversing, (whist silently pleading, “Please don’t let it break, please don’t let it break”), chooses that particular moment to heave a sigh of frustration, and collapse into the swirling maelstrom, I can assure you ONE of my...
Our Mr. Brooks
From The Republican Glasnot, by David Brooks: There are increasing signs that House Republicans are willing to unite behind Speaker John Boehner so he can cut a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff.” There has been an epidemic of open-mindedness as Republicans try to win minority votes and create a version of their party that...
Republicans And Damn Republicans
There’s an old saying: “There are lies, and there are damn lies”. Well, I suggest there are Republicans, (Old School), and there are damn Republicans (Model 2.0). WWII Disabled veteran and former Senator, Bob Dole, is from the Old School. Sadly, his kind are rapidly disappearing, and being replaced by the (cold and stingy) Mod...
Millennials And The GOP
The first note in this stream puts things in a bit of perspective. My kids were born between 1976 and 1990. Clearly, when it comes to politics and government leadership, (leadership, in this case, should probably be Bold, “in quotes” and italicized, just to make my sarcastic point), the preponderance of my kids’ experience has...
Conservative And Cool
I apologize from the top. I’ve long said, (and no doubt been oft quoted), Conservatives (Big C) cannot, cannot, CANNOT do cool. No matter how they try, they just don’t get the notion. And we’re not even going to start talking about humor. You thought Clint Eastwood’s schtick was funny? You . . . what?...
The Federal Teat
Mr. Romney (and his minions) like to portray all the non-tax-payers as moochers and sponges, sucking on the Federal Teat? Thank you, Ayn Rand, for showing us the Way. Interesting. Let’s have a quick look, shall we, at where all those teat-sucking moochers live? A test: The vast majority of tax modifications that resulted...
GOP Politics . . . The Spectator Sport
This has been a really tough week for Mitt Romney. And it’s only Tuesday. Oh well. I have to agree with Shrum, in this article, about the GOP coming off their political rails. Think about this for a moment. The people currently in charge, (i.e. Tea Party), are rabidly conservative. They actually don’t disagree with...
Why It Matters
— I occasionally choose to exhume older posts, simply as a reminder. This one is from April 18, 2011 — Most of you reading this post … I’m assuming a few of you actually do read this … are too young to be personally concerned with things like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. But you...
