I made a gross misjudgment. And, I failed to learn from it. No, though acknowledgment of it may be rare, making mistakes and not learning from them are not necessarily rare occurrences for me. I know you’re shocked but it is true.
When I began to consider writing my first book it seemed an easy task. After all, I had some writing background, as a foreign correspondent and writing for an academic journal.
All I needed to do was put on paper, or screen, what I knew about the subject. I had been giving speeches across the country and abroad. Some people looked upon me as having a degree of expertise. Many would suggest that I write a book. I did.
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Edward R. Murrow was a role model for me, as well as many others. Sadly, he is no longer a figure of significance to what is now called journalism. The following highlights just how far journalism has fallen.
The impetus for this post are the antics of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the recently released Americans held for a few months by the regime in North Korea. They have been identified as journalists. They were not.
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It appears that the regulars are coming to the site with some frequency to laugh at my latest opinions. It has been a few days without your almost daily dose.
I aim at one every three days. Sometimes I achieve that. Sometimes I don’t. I am a bit off schedule right now. My apologies.
Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Either I have too much going on or I’m slowing down more than I suspected or Congress has reduced the number of hours in the day.
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In 1865 Lewis Carroll wrote a classic for children. However, the logic contained therein seems to be the basis for present political discourse.
A firestorm was kicked up this past weekend by comments from Obama and Kathleen Sibelius. Has his “requirement” of a public option itself become an option, a dispensable element of a plan he is willing to accept as a victory for reform?
Senator Conrad of North Dakota, a less than staunch supporter of the President, appointed himself head head counter. He told everyone that there are not enough votes for a public option. He claimed there never was.
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Every once in a while something strikes us much too close to home.
Two or three times each year our church has a Boomers’ Banquet. Several years ago a couple organized one and it has become a popular event for us geezers.
Although everyone else dresses casually, Ed, as host, dresses up in a tuxedo. Brenda always wears an evening gown. I hesitate to guess at her age but would put it somewhere close to sixty. Few of that age exhibit anywhere near as much energy.
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A few of us are unfortunate enough to be able to remember the decade of the 1950s. I’ll refrain from naming names. But, I will if I have to.
There was a major scare back in that strange, misbegotten decade. The “Bomb,” of course. No. Even scarier. The Communists had an even more devious plot to destroy the US of A.
What was this nefarious plan? It’s almost too horrible to relate, even after more than half a century.
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America is the greatest country in the world. I grew up hearing that and I used to believe it. I still hear people saying it.
Is it true? What did people mean when they made that claim? What does it mean now? Are people now just saying it out of habit? What criteria are they using? Perhaps we need to look in the mirror.
We aren’t the richest country in the world. We don’t have the longest life expectancy. We rank way down the list on satisfaction with our lives. We have the highest crime rate in the world. One of every four prisoners in the world is one of us.
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What’s the difference? Well, they are both smiling. They are both wearing suits and ties. They are both using the flag to make people think they care about America. Neither gives a damn about their constituents.
Among the differences is the fact that one is a Senator; the other is a former member of the House of Representatives. One has been convicted; one hasn’t. One took $100,000 from the FBI. The other takes millions of dollars from lobbyists.
There’s really not that much difference. Why don’t they represent us? Why are they allowed to accept bribes? What standards should we hold them to?
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Who’s in charge? Here is an article from the New York Times illuminating the real role that al-PhARMA is playing and how the administration is prostituting itself, unnecessarily.
Be prepared to be sickened. Understanding what they are doing and how they are doing it spotlights just who is in control and why the final result of “reform” will end up costing far, far more than needs be.
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No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
The Biblical citation is also found, excepting one word, in Matthew 6:24. Matthew substitutes man for servant. Since the subject is public servants, I lean toward Luke.
In my last two posts I mentioned my challenge to Bart Gordon, Blue Dog extraordinaire, to debate me on healthcare reform. I made a mistake.
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