Category: International

  • FOUR STARS OF DAVID

    BUSH & SHARON – THE HAMHANDED EFFORT TO GET THINGS RIGHT Jerusalem has been on my mind of late because of the bombings and other acts of warfare that have taken place there. At the outset, I must point out that I am not an active partisan in the dispute between the Israeli and Palestine…

  • THE OLD AND THE NEW NORMALS

    My linguistic skills are limited. I speak the mother tongue of English in a generally acceptable form. I used to mutter a few words in Italian and some in German. A lack of use has tended to cause those skills to diminish. And then there are two derivatives of the English language which are worthy…

  • THE PARADISE OF LARRY CRAIG

    The morning newspaper in what I generally refer to as my home town was called The St. Louis Globe Democrat. The name of the paper is misleading in every respect. The Globe covered local affairs and rarely ventured into global concerns or even national concerns. Secondly, the Globe Democrat was the voice of the Bob…

  • STAYING THE COURSE

    A week or so ago, the English Prime Minister, Tony Blair, came to Washington to discuss how things were going in the war against Iraq. Blair and Bush appeared after their conference to hold a meeting with the press. None of the major American networks carried the program. It didn’t even appear on the Public…

  • FOUR DISMAL DECISIONS

    In the space of a week, the Bush Administration has brought four dismal decisions down upon the American people. All four involve our relationships with the rest of the world. One involves Chaney’s attack dog, John Bolton, being named as our permanent ambassador to the United Nations. The second is the appointment of Bush’s female…

  • STAYING THE COURSE

    Every American essayist prays for a week like this one – even atheists, the Dunkers, and the non-believers ask the One Great Intelligent Designer to give them a week where preachers and politician-preachers become so bollixed up that the whole world shakes its head in puzzlement. The only thing missing is for Charley, the Prince…

  • SATURDAY AFTERNOON THOUGHTS DURING AUGUST HEAT | Meditations Chapter 14: Verses Amos to Andy

    It may be that the string of temperatures of over 90 degrees has gotten to the old essayist. For an old geezer from St. Louis where the summer temperatures are reminiscent of the home that Satan enjoys, it must be said that the heat is more than impressive. All of this leads to a series…

  • THOUGHTS THAT OCCUR LATE AT NIGHT | Meditations Chapter VIII

    When the idea of Meditations was revealed to me, it was my thought that a sentence or two on each idea would be sufficient. As it turned out, some of the Meditations cannot be dismissed so lightly. Some require an explanation that would rival Genesis of Biblical fame. And so it is time to return…

  • CLEAR THINKING

    The Commander in Chief/Chief Executive of these United States claims that he has discerned that Social Security is proceeding to a state he calls “flat bust.” If he were talking about female physiognomy, that would be one thing. But Mr. Chief of Everything is saying that the Social Security Trust Fund will be bankrupt in…

  • THOUGHTS THAT OCCUR WHILE SHAVING | Fourth Series of Thoughts

    Hiraeth My friends whose native language is other than English, tell me that the language of England, which is also spoken in many other countries, is a rich and diverse language. By that, it is assumed that the English language has a term or an expression to fit almost any of mankind’s needs. While the…