Reading time – 46 seconds . . . I was sitting in a comfortable chair on my patio surrounded by garden flowers and trees on a quiet Saturday morning reading David McCullough’s Truman and sipping my thick, rich, dark roast coffee. Then neighbors diagonally across the back yard turned on their music and the quiet… [read more]
A Shoe
Reading time – 19 seconds; Contemplation time – lots longer . . . Bob Fields is a local artist who recently just couldn’t stand it any longer. He saw the same pictures and video that you saw of so much suffering in Gaza. What was worse was that so much of the suffering and dying… [read more]
When You Ain’t Got Nothin’
VIDEO NEWS FLASH! Mike Papantonio is the host of Ring Of Fire Radio, along with Bobby Kennedy and Sam Seder. He was the main speaker at a recent event and I was honored to be asked to do a short presentation to set the tone for the day and to introduce Mike. You can watch… [read more]
Hello – Is Anybody There?
Reading time – 71 seconds . . . Thirty-five years ago Ronald Reagan went stumping for himself and preaching the false dogma of “trickle-down” economics. Sadly, he succeeded in selling that idolatrous religion and the trickling down turned out to be a vaporous mirage for poor and middle-class Americans, while floods of cash inundated the… [read more]
Who Cares About Buffalo?
Reading time – 75 seconds . . . Let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine: – that you live in Buffalo, NY; – that a militant group in Toronto was firing rockets into Buffalo; – that the rockets and other war materiel were stored and launched from the homes of civilians, from hospitals and from schools… [read more]
Republicanistas
Reading time – 37 seconds . . . I’m reading David McCullough’s biography of Harry Truman and am struck by a comment in a letter from young Harry to his then-intended, Bess Wallace, who would later become the First Lady. In his letter he wrote, “I am by religion like everything else. I think there’s… [read more]
Guns & Best Places: Final Exam
Reading time 37 seconds . . . I have received requests from readers wanting to know what the three tests are that an applicant must pass in order to receive a zoning variance in Niles, IL. Mr. Bruce Sylvester, Community Planner for the Village of Niles kindly forwarded the information to me. The test is… [read more]
Guns & Best Places
Reading time – 37 seconds . . . There was a vote by the village board in Niles, IL on July 22, 2014 regarding a zoning variance to allow a new gun shop to open within a mile of three schools and within 1 block of one of them. The board room was packed with… [read more]
You Aren’t Getting What You Want & Snowballs
Reading time – 91 seconds . . . Last month the Senate rejected a bill that would have allowed for the refinancing of our over $1 trillion of student debt in order to take advantage of today’s low interest rates. Elizabeth Warren commented about that saying, “With this vote we show the American people who… [read more]
Father Flannigan in Texas
This is a guest essay from reader Frank Levy of Houston, TX. It was submitted as a comment to an earlier post, Father Flannigan, Your CEO and the Supreme Court, and was deemed too important to bury at the bottom of the Comments section. It is offered here for your consideration and comment. ————————————- In… [read more]
