Where I Lived and What I Lived For I enter this venture for purely selfish reasons. The first is simple – I love to write. The second reason is as simple as the first, I love to collect the ideas and words of others.
A Country That Cannot Sing “The white cracker who wrote the national anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word ‘free’ to a note so high nobody can reach it.” From Tony Kushner’s, Angels in America.
I Could Be A Republican But “I call myself a Republican ’cause I am one. I believe in market solutions and I believe in common sense realities and the necessity to defend ourselves against a dangerous world and that’s about it.
For Whom The Bell Tolls Yesterday the Empire claimed another life when unmanned drones launched their hell fire and wiped out the small party of warriors. Thousands of miles away the Empire’s leadership patted each other on their backs and toasted a job well done.
The Sunday New York Times How did I not understand this simple fact much earlier in my life? How could I spend so much of my adult life without a proper appreciation of the Sunday Times?
Edward Everett Hale “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can.” This quote was what drew me to my study of Hale. For me, it resonated with the thoughts of Eleanor Roosevelt*
On Being A Democratic Socialist I align with the concept of democratic socialism because I have been blessed with its benefits and am old enough to have known people who have suffered in its absence.
If You Were Right, I Would Agree With You When arguing on social media (an admittedly futile effort that I undertake solely because I like to debate a position), recently I have taken to asking for evidence from a credible source.
Jim Croce Hey Tomorrow As I drove a song came on the Sirius XM channel that gave me a flashback to another lifetime………
White Martin The day he was lynched, Martin Luther King Jr was among the most reviled men in the United States.
Forgive Us Our The Scripture reading for next Sunday is Matthew 6, the verses that include what is often referred to as The Lord’s Prayer. If you attend a Christian church, it will invariably be part of the worship. It is a common an element to worship as the cross or the baptismal font.
Being John Pavolvitz No, the title isn’t a mistake. I know that the familiar title is, Being John Malkovich , a 1999 American fantasy comedy film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut.
R.I.P. Debt Recently I met with small group and discussed a big problem – Medical Debt.
On-Fleas-and-Other-Beasties “Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite ’em And little fleas have lesser fleas,and so ad infinitium.”
Nostalgia During this time of quarantine, I have spent many moments thinking about the not so distant past.
In America, Who is a Person? An essay inspired by Howard Fineman’s The 13 American Arguments.
Conversations That Never Seem to Change A Conversation With Ebeneezer Scrooge
July 2009: Cash For Clunkers It may have been new but it wasn’t the Jeep.
Seven Lessons I Learned from Star Trek A little wisdom and a little fun. Live long and prosper is a great toast.
The Pandemic of Racism A letter from Conference Minister Bill Worley
The System Is Not Broken Thoughts on systemic racism
Of Dolts and Blivots (Part 1) Thoughts on words I used to use but have slipped from my vocabulary.
Of Dolts and Blivots Part 2 Lesson learned at a barber shop.
Your Experience is Not Everyone’s Experience A question of nature v nurture?
As John Stuart Mill Might Say on Utilitarianism and COVID-19
A Hazy Shade of Winter Remembering a song and a discussion
The Tyranny of the Minority This democracy was born to cast off the yoke of the King. The Founders put safeguards in place to prevent the tyranny of the majority. They believed that the factitious minority could never come together long enough to pose a threat. Little did they know.
When Fantasy Bumps Up Against Reality Thoughts while watching a television show abut a viral epidemic
Kicking A$$ and Taking Names Thoughts on the attempted coup of January 6, 2021
Reflections On A Star Walk Thoughts on my word for the year: Abundance.
MLK2021 Reflections on Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Questions After the Atlanta Mass Murders an open letter to churches in the aftermath of the Atlanta shootings targeting Asian women.
No Bacon’s Rebellion 2.0 Why such a fuss over a little history?
Five (Really Six) Monuments On one visit to Chapel Hill, NC, home to my beloved Tar Heels, I discovered five monuments to its history (pictured above). I believe that they tell an history that is both local and national in its narrative. These monuments, and those like them that are scattered across the communities of our country are part of the history that should be taught; part of the history that critics of CRT do not want told.
Dangerous Times I vividly remember the Cuban Missile Crisis and the very real threat posed to out nation. That event pales in comparison to these.
A Note from a Union Guy A Labor Day Reminder
Colin Powell…. A Life Well Lived. Thirteen Rules from a man who wanted to be remembered for his service.
Don’t Look Up- The Prayer Iconic scene From an iconic movie.
A Plagiarist, a CEO, and an Expert Walked into a Courtroom Report on the fair Funding court case
Remembering Labor Thoughts on a Labor Day
Is college the new high school? My response to a Quora prompt.
The Restless Scrimmage Inside Dean Smith a reprint of a 1982 Sports Illustrated article about the GOAT of college basketball (and a pretty decent human being).
Things He Never Said (Neinsteins) Things often attributed to Einstein but nah.
Something Einstein Actually Said “I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’ This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves.
Being Present: My 2024 Resolution The wisdom of Hemingway and a turtle.
When Great Trees Fall And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed
Read more: My Thoughts (and the thoughts of others) About Various and Sundry ThingsMake Me an Instrument A Reminder or Benediction
Peace of the Wild Things Because sometimes I need a reminder to “just be”.
My Thoughts and the Thoughts of Others 