Well, President Biden got his $1.9 trillion – that’s $1,900,000,000,000.00 – “American Rescue” “stimulus” package.  That’s roughly $5,757.00 for every person in America, if we count the 10 million or so here illegally.  Much, if not most, has little or nothing to do with the pandemic.  Every penny of it is borrowed.  There is an interesting website called the U.S. Debt Clock.  As I wrote this early on the morning of March 8, 2021, the national debt was well over $28,026,290,000,000 and climbing rapidly.  The debt per taxpayer is approaching $224,000.  The debt for the typical family of 4 is … Continue reading Random Thoughts, Blowout Edition

I know!  Central American nations have scads of people eager and dying (literally) to come to the United States, and we have a bunch of basketball players and other ingrates who think that the republic is filled with privileged white racists who all conspire to oppress everyone else.  Let’s swap.  We’ll be better off, but I’m not so sure about Honduras and Guatemala.  The spoiled brats won’t have to worry about us evil white people hurting their feelings anymore, just murderous drug gangs, tin-pot dictators, and hopeless poverty.  That’s a fair trade, right? While we’re at it, perhaps the Black … Continue reading Random Thoughts, Swap Meet Edition

As I write, the Senate has just voted to acquit former President Trump, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has delivered a blistering speech denouncing Trump for his actions leading up to and during the Stop the Steal riot.  Both well and good. McConnell made a strong case that, since Trump is no longer President, he could not be impeached, while acknowledging that both sides of that dispute have strong arguments.  I’m not convinced by either.  Impeachment isn’t a criminal proceeding, it’s a political proceeding, and it would seem that the wording in the Constitution is purposefully vague for that reason.  … Continue reading Trump Deserves Censure

In 1848 the United States was preoccupied with wrapping up the war against Mexico, hordes of settlers moving west, destitute Europeans pouring across the Atlantic, and the issue of slavery approaching a rolling boil.  Not that it paid much attention to Europe, anyway, and practically none to Asia; the nation followed George Washington’s advice and avoided foreign entanglements. Which may explain why we Americans know so little about the events that shook Europe in 1848.  Revolutions broke out from one end of the continent to the other.  The specific grievances in each country were so diverse that it’s hopeless trying … Continue reading 1848 – History is Rhyming

Joe Biden has been a busy man, having issued a bunch of executive orders since being inaugurated.  How many?  I lost count, but when your cheerleaders at the New York Times are telling you to slow down, you can bet it’s a lot. Now, if you ask me, executive rule by pen and phone is unconstitutional, but nobody asked me.  Until someone with standing challenges it and spends a decade or so in the courts, leading up to the Supreme Court telling the President to cool it, executive orders can be expected to multiply. It’s the consequence of a closely-divided … Continue reading Go On, Joe, I Dare You

Glass is a marvelous material.  Its discovers in ancient Egypt thought it was magic; because they had almost no understanding of how it came to be, it was considered a jewel as valuable as gold and gems.  Now it’s commonplace, but at the same time, irreplaceable.  We’re surrounded by it in our homes, in our cars, and at work; how different these places and things would be without the transparency that glass provides.  Nearly indissoluble, nearly impenetrable, chemically inert and cheap, it’s still the material of choice for bottling and storing a wide variety of materials.  In the high-tech form … Continue reading Leather, Steel, Stone, Glass

“You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means.” -Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride As every civilized person knows, The Princess Bride is the greatest movie ever made.  But we can discuss that another time. Whenever things don’t go his way, which is often, the evil Vizzini exclaims “Inconceivable!”.  Finally, the swordsman Montoya, befuddled by Vizzini’s befuddlement, says, “You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means.”  Interesting how a fairy tale – and that’s what The Princess Bride is – captures in one funny line a … Continue reading I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

John Brown’s body lies a-moulderin’ in the grave…. One of the ironic facts about John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, is that the leader of the small force sent to take it back was Colonel Robert E. Lee.  Yes, that Robert E. Lee. Now, I happen to think that Lee was one of the greatest Americans who ever lived, in spite of his treason and taking up arms against the nation. He was a slave holder, inherited from his wife’s father – but they were freed according to his father-in-law’s will, remarkably in the middle … Continue reading Our John Brown Moment?

Trumpistas, you stepped in it good this time. I am still trying to wrap my head around what happened in Washington on January 6.  I’m having a hard time believing it. TRUMPISTAS, YOU HAVE GIVEN YOUR ENEMIES ON THE LEFT ALL THE EVIDENCE THEY WILL EVER NEED to prove conclusively that you are exactly what they have been saying for the last 4 years – not patriots, but mindless followers of a dangerous demagogue willing to go to any lengths to stay in power. And don’t try to blame it on a lunatic fringe.  YOU WERE THERE.  At the very … Continue reading God, Save Me From My Friends

Trumpistas, get over it.  Your man lost.  I voted for him, reluctantly, because the alternative was worse, but in the end, senile old Joe is fairly in, and Trump is fairly out, and we shall see who is the happier, to paraphrase George Washington. The way I see it, 4 years ago Trump was a sharp stick in the eye of a Washington establishment that richly deserved it.  For all his manifest faults, he was just the messenger to deliver the thrashing and wake-up call they needed.  But 4 years of Trump proved to be more than enough message for … Continue reading Post-Election Blues