April 1, 2024

Anybody notice how the Biden era is starting to resemble that W.B. Yeats poem?

In 1973, I took my brand-new G.I. Bill to school.  Having an affinity for the language, I started off thinking I’d pursue a career in letters.  My second semester in English Literature disabused me of the delusion.  It was ...

February 14, 2022

Woodstock on ice: Lessons from the frozen north

In the summer of 1969, I was a freshly minted airman on my way to my first duty station.  As fate would have it, my route took me from my hometown in Buffalo, New York past the site of the famous Woodstock festival on the very weekend it ha...

May 5, 2020

Plagues, real and otherwise

Now that we appear to be emerging from the much-ballyhooed pandemic, it might be a good time to consider the real plague and what it might mean to you and me. By "real plague" I mean the one that destroyed one third of Europe (or 60% of ...

February 9, 2013

Lee Rodgers RIP

For those who aren't familiar with Lee Rodgers, he was a powerful voice for sanity in what he not so lovingly referred to as the world's largest outdoor zoo, San Francisco.  His morning radio show on KSFO was part of my family's life from day on...

January 30, 2013

Surprise! It's a Federal Invasion

In December 2012, the journal of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association ran a laudatory article about the Coast Guard's drug boat interdiction squadron, HITRON, based in Florida.  The author rode along as the chopper intercepted a suspicio...

December 1, 2012

Of Space and Men

If a future historian wanted to find the intersection of America's apogee and the start of her decline, he could do no better than spend forty minutes watching this NBC video about Apollo 13. The program was produced on the fortieth anniversary of t...

November 18, 2012

The Demographic That Matters

Scanning the youthful faces of the crowd in Chicago waiting for President Obama on election night, I had the sensation of looking out on a sea of strangers.  Despite the fact that they were waving American flags, something seemed chillingly alie...

May 21, 2012

California Dreamin': A Nightmare of Collapse

There was a time when the California dream conjured visions of sun, endless summers, hot love, cool breezes, and muscle cars.  The California economy, once the world's 7th largest, supported these dreams -- carrying us into the future on its bra...

April 15, 2012

Church, Sex, and Society

The power of any society is a function of the unity of belief among its members.  For nearly 2,000 years, being a Catholic was an all-or-nothing proposition that demanded the believer's assent to all the Church taught.  However, by the end ...

February 18, 2012

War, Tragedy, and Hope

For the last twenty years, America has been in a near-continuous state of war.  As the drums rumble for another attack on a foreign nation, would it be impertinent to ask what America gained for the sacrifice to date?  Since we are expected...

June 7, 2011

Virtual Money, Ugly Reality

On the eve of the last great inflation, a buddy of mine left the Air Force, went home, and got a job as an entry-level machinist.  Still living on military pay, we whom he left behind could not believe how much he was earning. It's still hard to...

March 4, 2011

Barack and the bear

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE ...

February 19, 2011

Thus Ever Are Tyrants

Contempt for the people and their just laws are the hallmarks of tyranny.  When the tyrant looks out upon the masses he bestrides, he doesn't see people; he sees objects to be manipulated, mulcted and molested.  The sacred trust binding the...

January 26, 2011

Of Pots and Kettles

Monday night on Hannity's show, Reverend Al Sharpton for reasons that remain unclear, was enraged at Senator Rick Santorum's comments that as a black man, President Obama ought to show more concern for the unborn victims of abortion. The Reverend co...

January 23, 2011

The Descent of Woman

For over fifteen centuries in the world touched by Western civilization, Christ's mother embodied the feminine ideal.  During this time, the Virgin Mary's dignity extended to all women.She inspired the arts and literature.  Most importantly...

December 12, 2010

Flash Attack

At noon on October 30, 2010, a devastating device ripped through a crowded Philadelphia department store.  Hundreds of unsuspecting shoppers were suddenly exposed to an infectious agent delivered with explosive power.  Those exposed are sti...

October 9, 2010

The Walking Wounded

There is a stunning video on YouTube making the email rounds. It's promoting something called 10:10, an event encouraging us to cut our carbon emissions by 10%. Clearly aimed at young people, the video features several skits. In each, an authority fi...

September 15, 2010

Foxes, Rats, Chickens, and Harpies

Years ago I worked with a courtly, older engineer.  Born and educated in Hungary, he was the essence of Old World manners and good breeding.  He was also one of the most genial and good-natured people I've ever met.  One day I happened...

August 15, 2010

Liberalism's Sin

Recently, liberalism's been characterized as a mental disorder. While that assessment makes entertaining rhetoric, it misses the mark.Liberals are fully capable of functioning in their daily lives. They are often highly successful. They can be v...

July 10, 2010

Wankers: Then and Now

Not long ago, one of the cable channels ran a show about Pompeii. Naturally, the city's dramatic finale in 79 AD is a fascinating story. However, this piece focused on the social aspects of life there, specifically the sexual currents that still flow...

June 24, 2010

An American Chernobyl?

The calamity in the Gulf has the markings of the disaster that led to the demise of the Soviet Union. Our federal government led by our god-like president, an omnipotent structure in the starry eyes of many, shows itself to be an incompetent, uncoord...

March 13, 2010

Hey, GI!

I have a friend who devotes much of her time to visiting people confined to their beds, whether by paralysis, age, or the other causes that put people into nursing homes. She does it for no compensation. The comfort and consolation she offers these p...

January 16, 2010

The Quiet Man

A few years ago, I met a very stone-faced facility manager to give him a quote for janitorial service. He was an old-school Asian businessman, and he wasn't about to give anything away in our conversation. It took about an hour, and throughout, he wa...

December 22, 2009

Returning to the Moon

On December 24, 1968, three young Americans broadcast a Christmas message to the world from the loneliest location man has yet to visit. As Apollo 8 orbited the moon, they broadcast stunning images of the vast emptiness of space surrounding...

October 20, 2009

Rush, Roger, Joe and me

As a kid, I discovered professional football in a place called the "rockpile".  The rockpile was an artifact of the last depression, a rickety WPA project that was the first home of the Buffalo Bills.  The rockpile was located in ...