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FROM THE FRIENDLY WHITE HOUSE TO YOUR HOUSE
If you were alive in January of 2001, you may recall that George W. Bush ascended to the Presidency of this country. He got there by virtue of the ugly fact that the Supreme Court was counting the ballots. At the conclusion of the ballot count, Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia issued his ruling…
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WAR ON TERROR
The news from Washington, particularly the White House, tells us that we are fighting a war on terror. This old under-educated, inarticulate clod is baffled by that description. What war are we talking about? And are the American people genuinely terrorized? The imprecision of the language in the so-called war on terror is immense. When…
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OF PISSANTS, POLITICIANS, AND CUPIDITY
The breadth of the title of this essay might lead you to believe that it is a formidable undertaking. But when taken by its individual parts it is not necessarily so formidable operation. Let us take the pissant part to start. The word pissant is far from a vulgarity. It identifies a living creature who…
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THE INTERREGNUM
In ancient times when one king died or was deposed and there was a period before the new king was crowned, it was called an interregnum. Scholars have told me that this term comes from Latin sources. As I attempt to compose this modest essay today on November 25, the American public wants the interregnum…
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11/04/08: AMERICA REJOINS THE CIVILIZED WORLD
Shortly after the results of the most recent presidential election were confirmed at 11 PM, our eldest grandson called me. Connor Shepherd is a 24-year-old grandson who lives and works in San Francisco. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 2007, and spent the next year in Japan perfecting his use of the Japanese language. Connor…
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IS IT CELEBRITY OR A CASE OF NOTORIETY?
Astonishment at the antics of American politicians does not come easily to this old geezer of ancient vintage. However, the events of the past two days have caused this old gaffer a full-fledged case of complete astonishment. On July 29, 2008 Barack Obama held a rally in the town of Springfield, Missouri. That city is…
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ANOTHER DOSE OF THEM RANDOM THOUGHTS
All things considered, my mother spoke less than perfect English. Her rural background often seeped through in her manner of speaking. While she may have made grammatical mistakes and mispronunciations, the burden of her message was always clear. If she were alive today, there is some doubt that she would read my essays. But perhaps…
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JUST WORDS
A good many years ago, Will Rogers, the noted American humorist, said of himself, “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” Judging by the time it has taken to nominate the 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, it appears that Will Rogers probably had it right. At this point, we…
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UPON GIVING ADVICE TO THE PRESIDENT
I ordinarily do not give advice to sitting United States Presidents because I know it will probably never reach them and if it does it will probably be ignored. But if my thoughts have any currency at the moment, I would like them to be transmitted to Barack Obama. Point one is that he should…
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A LITTLE MORE OF THISA AND A LITTLE MORE OF THATA
Ben Bernie was the subject of a previous essay distributed recently. Bernie was a very popular band leader who led an orchestra from the 1920s through the 1950s. You may recall that when his orchestra pleased him, he would say, “Yousa, yousa, yousa!” And when he would introduce a variety of songs, he would call…