Ukraine

A More Perfect Union

Thursday, February 9th, 2023

It shouldn’t surprise you that some reporters, talk show hosts and columnists are lazy.  They find a meme and then plug in a detail.   The meme today is the phrase “Washington is broken.” This phrase allows the speaker to avoid taking responsibility for a judgment or prediction.  It opens the door to the related meme, […]

Straw Man

Thursday, October 13th, 2022

Boxers and soldiers often train fighting dummies.  It is easy to understand why.  Dummies don’t fight back.  Eventually, however, a good fighters needs to train against another human as an opponent if they want to win a real fight. Debates work similarly with words.  Some debaters only fight straw men; others, preferring a challenge, argue […]

Watch Your Step

Thursday, March 3rd, 2022

Escalators are a modern marvel.  The English word is derived from the word, escalade, meaning to climb.  An escalator actually takes the effort out of climbing. They are a welcome sight in a mall or a subway station. Unfortunately, there are times in life when an escalator is not welcome.  Sometimes we make decisions with […]

What Was Old Is New Again

Thursday, February 24th, 2022

I will never forget my childhood trip to Berlin.  My dad was stationed in Bamberg, Germany, and my parents wanted their children to see as much as possible.  The trip to Berlin was different than others. The trip started with a night train.  On most trips, we traveled in our huge red, Plymouth station wagon.  […]

The Strong Should Not Harm The Weak 

Thursday, February 17th, 2022

Around 1755 BCE, the Babylonian King Hammurabi proclaimed a law code.  For thousands of years it lay hidden in the ruins of Susa in modern Iran.  It revealed the ancient origins of government. The text on the granite stele began with a preamble.  Hammurabi claimed the gods called him by name to rule. They expected the king […]