Category Archives: Columns

The other day my wife said something very profound. It went something like, “ I feel so guilty sitting here in comfort and watching the plight of the Ukrainians, and then, when I’m able to put it out of my mind for a minute or so, I feel guilty about that.” Wow! That’s like beingContinue reading “Feeling Guilty”

Two recent CNN interviews have stuck out for me. Before I get to the details, let’s be clear. I’d pretty given up on CNN. Too much biased blabber in place of actual news, and too many commercials. But, as someone pointed out, when the chips are down CNN is the gold standard for crisis coverage.Continue reading “What Are We Waiting For?”

It wouldn’t seem we have much to be happy about. First there were the four turbulent years of he who shall remain nameless. During that time, our democracy was set back about 300 years, maybe 3000, as institutions, traditions and the rule of law, all of which combined to give our lives stability and structure,Continue reading “Silver Linings”

Everyone knows the old saw about not studying history and being condemned to repeat it. But the parallels between now and pre-WWII are really amazing. So as I wait to hear President Biden’s speech in a few moments, following Russia’s incursion into those two Ukrainian provinces, I have to wonder if we’ve learned. Let’s rollContinue reading “Parallels”

God, I hate to be prescient…again…but a good ol’ war would certainly be a boost for Joe Biden’s poll numbers, and perhaps would provide the needle the must eventually be stuck in the festering boil that is our contemporary politics. Enter one Vladimir Putin. It looks like Val is about to attempt to take aContinue reading “War! What is it good for?”

As usual, I write one of these things and a week later somebody notable, like Tom Friedman, comes out with essentially the same theme. Great minds think alike. Not sure what’s happening in my case. But, here’s my original take: It was in the interests of the wealthy to look past Hitler’s sins. Germany wasContinue reading “Bad for Business”

While I’ve long fancied myself as a master of home repair, the older I get the more I discover that I’m really not so smart as I thought. Take home electrics. A recent trip to Harbor Freight yielded a $3.50 circuit tester, which, when deployed in the outlets around the house, caused me some realContinue reading “Shocking”

Published in Lititz Record-Express, 9/23/21 A short time ago somebody wrote to this paper concerning my column on Vaccine Passports. He accused me of constantly “fear mongering” in this space. Instead of immediately rejecting that notion, I did what everyone with strong opinions should do when those opinions are criticized. I considered the possibility thatContinue reading “Afraid?”

Published 3/4/21 in the Lititz Record After reading Tim Snyder’s sobering article in the NY Times, I’m beginning to think that America has at last been defeated. Not by external enemies but by our own insatiable appetite for information. We’ve abandoned our local news sources, as Snyder points out, in favor of “info” channels thatContinue reading “Maybe it’s time!”