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A TINY CANDLE AT THE END OF A LONG DARK TUNNEL
When the United States began to sink into the quagmire that engulfs our banking industry, the stock market, and our fortunes, most politicians contended that we were only in a recession. Those of you who have been reading Ezra’s essays for a few years will be aware that for more than a year I have…
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THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
American government at the federal level is capable of great generosity as witnessed by the Marshall Plan, with which we rebuilt Europe after World War II. At the state level the governments are capable of idiotic lunacy. Witness the drives against all forms of homosexuality. Witness the promotion of tobacco planting. And finally observe that…
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COJONES
Within the next few days, Barack Obama will celebrate his first year in the office of the presidency of the United States. I suppose the media will make this anniversary something to remember. If I may be excused, I would like to add the words of an old essayist to the batch of communications that…
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WHEN IT IS ASS-KICKING TIME ALONG THE POTOMAC
My efforts recently have been consumed by writing a song, which is the title of this essay. Sometimes the song seems to be a lullaby and at other times it becomes a dirge. But with the President now in the ass-kicking mode, perhaps it becomes a march or a patriotic song, such as “America the…
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A MATTER OF INTROSPECTION
These lines are being dictated on a Sunday, September 11, 2011. This of course is the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon. Further, it also marks the anniversary of American Flight 93 that was downed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania in a heroic action by the passengers. …
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THE MAN AT THE FEED STORE
This essay is about the man who works at a feed store in eastern Kansas. It comes to me from a woman who was born in Olomouc in the Czech Republic. Since her birth, she has migrated first to England and then to New York. So you see, there are international implications to this simple…
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ABJECT HATRED AND/OR THE GASEOUS ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
My parents had eight children, five of whom grew to maturity. Only one of them was troubled by vindictiveness to a degree of unpleasant hatred. If a major league hitter knocked out four balls out of five, it would be considered a phenomenon. Now consider this: I was in the American Army for a few…
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A SORRY TALE OF TWO EGREGIOUS PISSANTS
This is the second case in which I have occasion to refer to pissants. For those who did not see my earlier description of pissants, it should be remembered that pissants are living creatures. They exist primarily in rural areas of this country. They have no eyesight but their hearing apparatus seems to be in…
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ENHANCED VULGARITIES AND/OR DO AMERICANS REALLY TALK LIKE THIS?
In an effort to be as straight forward as possible, I will admit at the beginning of this essay that the George Bush administration made it known to all Americans that enhancement had taken on a more sinister meaning. When the Bushies talked about enhanced interrogation, they were really talking about torture. This essay has…
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THE BLACK CAT ESCAPES FROM THE BAG
I had hoped never to have an occasion to write an essay that charges racial discrimination against a presidential contender. But the facts are clear. The Republican campaign in 2012 is aimed at vilifying Barack Obama. In spite of all of his accomplishments, Mr. Obama is vilified for no apparent reason. I have long suspected…