The Resignation…

Washington DC – Resigning His commission Lets finish up this year with the famous picture as described below. It hang in one of the many galleries in DC.  Here is what the government website says about it:13 The painting General George Washington Resigning His Commission by John Trumbull is on display in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. This painting depicts the scene on December 23, … Continue reading The Resignation…

Indy…

Indianapolis, IN — The Canal It was a long time coming but my birth city of Indianapolis has finally cleaned up much of the downtown area. My favorite place there is the Indiana Historical Society from which this picture was taken. A little advanced notice that I will be including some info from them in a future expanded “search for America” Continue reading Indy…

How we went to the Dark Side…

This is terrorism’s sick genius. Terrorists invite us — seduce us — to share their Manichaean worldview, to respond to savagery with savagery, to join them in madness. “Make us safe!” Americans demanded. And so our elected leaders launched two wars, saw WMD where there were none, launched surveillance programs with virtually no limits, and embraced “enhanced interrogation.” As justification, the White House and the … Continue reading How we went to the Dark Side…

Against Indifference….

I’m not sure if religion is the opiate of the masses, but I’m convinced that indifference is the opiate of the privileged. We turn to it when overwhelmed by the discomfort we feel about our complicity in an oppressed person’s reality. To anesthetize ourselves against their reality, we willfully ingest this opiate and use it as a coping mechanism. After years of the westernized church ingesting unhealthy amounts of … Continue reading Against Indifference….

McDonald’s Set To Phase Out Some….

One of the solutions to those tanking profits? Shrinking menu sizes. “Our intent is to have a cleaner menu board that is easier for customers to absorb,” spokeswoman Lisa McComb said in a statement to The Huffington Post. To do so, McComb said McDonald’s will be “simplifying our current menu.” SOURCE:  McDonald’s Set To Phase Out Some Of Your Favorite Items. Wean Yourselves Now.. I know … Continue reading McDonald’s Set To Phase Out Some….

How It Feels to Be a Kid on Welfare

On this particular morning, I was faced with a photo of a food stamp with a note to “those on welfare” who “don’t work” and “milk the system.” The post was calling for “accountability.” I just shook my head in disappointment. While most political comments don’t hit me very hard (we all have a right to our opinion), I have a difficult time with those … Continue reading How It Feels to Be a Kid on Welfare

It Is Never Enough….

The 78-year-old screen legend has been bankrupted by a string of poor business decisions…. The 78-year old actor was one of Hollywood’s greatest stars in the 1970s, but a string of poor business decisions have bankrupted him and already forced him to sell several of his homes… SOURCE: Burt Reynolds Is Auctioning His Belongings to Tackle Financial Woes | TIME. Burt Reynolds was not one of … Continue reading It Is Never Enough….

The Least Common Denominator…. And the Charter Schools….

 Philadelphia public schools are in trouble. Not enough money. Overflowing classrooms. And the unkindest cut of all, more than one-third of its students, 70,000, are in charter schools, which Philadelphia has to pay for, but doesn’t control…. individuals are choosing away from us, simply because they don’t think that our schools are meeting the needs of our children…. So what we want to do is to … Continue reading The Least Common Denominator…. And the Charter Schools….

Christianity is Harder Than We Pretend it is….

Surprisingly, many people don’t reject Christianity because they’ve given up on God. Instead, they’ve given up on the people and things that represent God. They don’t hate Jesus, they just become tired of not finding Him within Christian culture. As Christians, we sometimes mistakenly try to compensate for God by presenting our faith as easier than it really is. We cover up the ugliness and … Continue reading Christianity is Harder Than We Pretend it is….

America’s broken promise

All that lovely wealth isn’t trickling down. The country’s median income hit a high of $56,080 in 1999, went into slow decline, dropped to $53,644 after the 2008 economic meltdown — and five years later, was lower still, at $52,100. Raises remain tiny. Many newly created jobs pay a pittance. For tens of millions of people, the economic recovery is an illusion. The voters are … Continue reading America’s broken promise

Bush vs. Clinton in 2032…

This was not a banner year for youth voter participation. To be fair, off-year elections never are, but this year’s mere 12 percent participation rate of voters under 30 is about more than midterm ennui. Rather, it’s part of a larger trend of millennial disenchantment with the Washington establishment in both major parties — a trend that is primed to kick into high gear if … Continue reading Bush vs. Clinton in 2032…

"Who Are You To Tell Me How To Live??"

The above title seems very American in its character. We Americans, me included, just don’t like others telling us what to do or especially what to think. To some extent we are all rebel rousers in that regard. Some take this to an extreme by there “don’t confuse me with the facts”. We just don’t like being told what to do. Prohibitionist tried to mandate … Continue reading "Who Are You To Tell Me How To Live??"

Oil slump leads Wall Street to worst week in 2-1/2 years..

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, leaving the benchmark S&P 500 with its worst weekly performance since May 2012, as investors pulled back from the markets in response to oil’s free-fall and more weak data out of China. SOURCE: Oil slump leads Wall Street to worst week in 2-1/2 years – Yahoo Finance. I am by no means an economist who espouses to understand all this … Continue reading Oil slump leads Wall Street to worst week in 2-1/2 years..

America’s Religion…

People say that professional sports fuel what is worst in us. Our greed, our impatience, our willingness to ruin our bodies for the sake of fame. Our glorification of the worst human impulses, our blindness to the crimes these athletes sometimes commit…. It’s been said that sports are America’s religion and that this idolatry is our downfall. SOURCE: These Royals Make You Believe in God … Continue reading America’s Religion…

ISIS has Advanced Surface-to-air Missiles!!

I remember the details of the Vietnam war still today. While my hearing impairment kept me out of it I did lose several good friends to that totally unnecessary war.  One thing I remember is the daily body counts from the DOD of Viet Kong killed. It was acknowledged later that these numbers were grossly over counted.  It seems that the military establishment thought they could get … Continue reading ISIS has Advanced Surface-to-air Missiles!!