Reading time – 58 seconds . . . Donald Trump has resurrected the term “silent majority” and I must take issue with both a directly stated and an implied message. To my recollection, the term “silent majority” was coined by Richard Nixon in the late 1960s as code for “real, patriotic Americans,” in contrast to… [read more]
Just So You Know All of What It Means
Reading time – 96 seconds . . . You know about mass shootings, of course, but a review is useful, so have a look at the partial list below. DATE LOCATION PEOPLE KILLED PEOPLE INJURED Oct 1, 2015 Roseburg, OR … [read more]
It’s Obvious
Reading time – 76 seconds . . . Long time reader DL offered in a private email that he sees me as an iconoclast and that I help people to realize the obvious. That’s a compliment, right? iconoclast – a person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions. – Apple Dictionary, v2.2 I’m not confident that… [read more]
Imagine
Reading time – 2 minutes 31 seconds . . . It was 1961 when President Kennedy proposed – challenged us, really – to send a man to the moon and bring him safely back to Earth by the end of the decade. It was a daring choice. At the time we didn’t have propulsion technology… [read more]
The Question
Reading time – 72 seconds . . . Pope Francis is visiting the United States this week and there is a question that begs an answer. Here are the facts. By the time his visit is complete he will have been received at the White House and will have visited the homeless. He will have… [read more]
Coming Together for Survival
Reading time – 41 seconds . . . A while back we had some assurance that there wouldn’t be a nuclear war with the Soviets. It was called “mutually assured destruction” – acronym MAD – and, not surprisingly, the Soviets wanted to continue to live as much as we did. That calculus for the… [read more]
One More Time, Jeb
Reading time – 2 minutes, 19 seconds . . . To you: Betcha you’re going to have an opinion on this. To Jeb: You told the lie again, a lie that has been repeated since 2002, this time at the CNN Republican candidate debate. You defended your brother’s legacy by telling us that he kept… [read more]
News Flash
Reading time – 43 seconds . . . Caution: The following is satire. Sensitive readers should close their eyes and chant, “I can’t see you, I can’t see you.” September 17, 2015 – Rochester, MN In a stunning announcement at their press conference today, doctors and neurological scientists at The Mayo Clinic released the results… [read more]
Get Up
Reading time – 47 seconds . . . “Democracy is a verb.” That’s what William McNary told us, speaking on July 26, 2015 on the Winnetka, IL Village Green at the 2015 Justice Day event. It was 50 years to the day since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to 10,000 people gathered in that… [read more]
Candidate Don Quixote
Reading time – 44 seconds . . . Miguel de Cervantes told the tale of Don Quixote, an old man, perhaps with dementia, who did things that looked crazy to more able-brained observers. In a peasant hag he saw a lady – his lady – a woman of the highest order and worthy of his… [read more]
