by Gary | Sep 10, 2014 |
Al-dawla al-islamiya fi al-iraq wa al-sham. There you have it. This is the full name (in arabic) of the group that is currently terrorizing large swaths of Iraq and Syria by using inhuman terror techniques more familiar to the middle ages. They also have a significant number of the citizens of the civilized world shaking in their boots and shaking their fists clamoring for retribution and then destruction. As I previously opined in a piece about the former dictator of Libya, Muammar Khadaffi, it’s nigh well impossible to focus on an enemy if you can’t agree on a name for the evil. Let’s see, Obama and his crowd insist on referring to...
by Gary | Feb 22, 2014 |
Never let it be said that I’m afraid of tackling the tough stuff. Any one who writes about god in Texas better be a preacher or a converted sinner. I am neither. I’m not taking a secular nor a religious approach to the topic. I’m going to try to deal with the subject as my old history teacher and wide receiver coach, Wally L., would have. Only the facts…names and dates in particular. This is not the place for, nor am I inclined to evangelize a point of view. I’ll let you decide for yourself if any of this makes sense. For source material I’ve relied on the research of cadres of academics who never tire of writing about...
by Gary | Jan 4, 2014 |
The words in the title of this post, absent the (un) are inscribed above the main entrance to the Supreme Court building in our nation’s capital. It is a noble sentiment to say the least, and some would say it is the corner stone of our system of jurisprudence, not to mention, our democracy. But it’s not exactly a new idea. The earliest evidence I’ve found appears in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian Wars wherein in he cites Pericles’ Funeral Oration in 431 BCE; which really wasn’t a funeral oration but a paen to the glory of Athens. Sidebar: I can never see the word Peloponnesian without thinking of the football...
by Gary | Dec 21, 2013 |
They’ve been having parties of all sorts at the White House for…well, for a long, long time, and I’m sure they’ll be having them long after I am gone. But this one was different. I was there. To be accurate, my darling wife, about three hundred solid citizens (only a few of which I knew, and I were there. This was one of several White House Christmas receptions in 2013, or maybe they now call them Holiday receptions in an effort to be perfectly politically correct. Come to think of it, I did see a lot of Christmas trees, but I don’t remember seeing any angels. I know for a fact that they also have at least one Hanukkah reception...
by Gary | Sep 18, 2013 |
Warning: This blog will deal with what most consider to be religious issues. Some who read it may be offended. If you are possibly one of those, hit the delete button now. On the other hand, if you don’t read it, how will you know that you are offended. Oh, what the hell, most of you have read stuff a lot worse than this could ever be. Give it a read, then decide. I grew up a Southern Baptist. Well, that’s a stretch. Actually my earliest memories of things religious date from my fifth or sixth grade year. I dunno what happened, church wise before then, but I have clear memories of the Hillcrest Baptist Church in 1953. My mother had a murky...
by Gary | Aug 17, 2013 |
I can’t recall exactly when I first became aware of “men of letters” as a designation for a particular class of erudite and literate individuals. Upon seeing this designation in print for the first time, I immediately thought of uncle Ned’s funeral in which I thought the B.P.O.E after his name would qualify him as a “man of letters”. Unfortunately, I shortly learned that being a life member of the Brotherhood of the Paternal Order of the Elks did not qualify him for entrance into these lofty literary circles. Upon reflection and some study, I’m inclined to put “men of letters” in two piles. In the first...
