tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33227242290178662282023-11-16T03:06:08.248-08:00Don'tBelieveEverything ...notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.comBlogger180125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-23758766874087154802022-01-01T23:29:00.001-08:002022-01-01T23:30:12.252-08:00That time again ...<p>
</p><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><b>How the South Won
the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the
Soul of America</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>, Heather
Cox Richardson<br /><br /></b></span><b><i>Why Does The World Exist?: An
Existential Detective Story</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Jim
Holt <br /><br /></span><i>Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Michael Grant<br /><br /></span><i>Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend
of Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Player<br /></i><span style="font-style: normal;">Jeremy
Beer<br /><br /></span><i>Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe,
1944-1956</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Anne
Applebaum<br /><br /></span><i>Hitler: 1889-1936: Hubris</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Ian Kershaw<br /><br /></span><i>Hitler: 1936-1945: Nemesis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Ian Kershaw<br /><br /></span><i>Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic: Reggie,
Rollie, Catfish and Charlie Finley's Swingin' A's<br /></i><span style="font-style: normal;">Jason
Turbow </span></b>
</p>
notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-37396888713563185712020-12-31T19:34:00.005-08:002020-12-31T19:34:52.360-08:00The Year In Books<p> I read 22 this year. The Covid thing helped, I guess<br /><br />
</p><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>The
Powers That Be:<br />Within the Kingdom of the Media: How Luce's
</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Time<br /></b></span><b><i>Paley's
</i><span style="font-style: normal;">CBS; </span><i>the Graham's
</i><span style="font-style: normal;">Washington Post<br /></span><i>and
the Chandler's </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Los Angeles Times
</span><i><br />Became Rich and Powerful and Changed Forever <br />the
Shape of American Politics and Society<br /></i><span style="font-style: normal;">David
Halberstam<br /><br /></span><i>12 Years A Slave</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Solomon Northup<br /><br /></span><i>The Magician</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Sol Stein<br /><br /></span><i>The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark
Twain, and the Birth of American Empire</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Stephen Kinzer<br /><br /></span><i>Heaven and Hell: A History of the
Afterlife</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,<br />Bart D.
Ehrman<br /><br /></span><i>Mickey and Willie: Mantle and Mays, the
Parallel Lives of Baseball's Golden Age</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Allen Barra<br /><br /></span><i>Summer of '68: The Season That changed
Baseball-And America-Forever<br /></i><span style="font-style: normal;">Tim
Wendel<br /><br /></span><i>Leadership In Turbulent Times, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Doris
Kearns Goodwin<br /><br /></span><i>The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How
Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made
Baseball America's Game</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,<br />Edward
Achorn<br /><br /></span><i>Gulag: A History</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Anne Applebaum<br /><br /></span><i>Swinging '73: Baseball's Wildest
Season</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Matthew Silverman<br /><br /></span><i>21
Lessons for the 21<sup>st</sup> Century</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Yuval Noah Harari</span><i><br /><br />The Final Season: Fathers, Sons an
d One Last Season In A Classic American Ballpark</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Tom Stanton<br /><br /></span><i>Red Famine: Stalin's War On Ukraine</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Anne Applebaum<br /><br /></span><i>Working: Researching, Interviewing,
Writing</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Robert A.
Caro<br /><br /></span><i>Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500
Year History</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,<br />Kurt
Andersen<br /><br /></span><i>Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America, A
Recent History</i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />Kurt
Andersen<br /><br /></span><i>Alice In Chains: The Untold Story</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
David de Sola <br /><br /></span><i>Lawrence I<u>n</u><span style="text-decoration: none;">
Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern
Middle East</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">,
Scott Anderson</span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /><br />Hillbilly
Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture In Crisis</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">,<br />J.D.
Vance<br /><br /></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;">Vision
or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">,
David Rundell<br /><br /></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;">Highest
Duty: My Search For What Really Matters</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br />Capt.
Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger with Jeffrey Zaslow<br /><br /></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;">Bushville
Wins: The Wild Saga of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves and the Screwballs,
Sluggers, and Beer Swiggers Who Canned The New York Yankees and
Changed Baseball</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">,
John Klima </span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></i></b></span>
</p>
notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-81860409141113851442020-01-03T22:42:00.001-08:002020-01-09T11:16:53.605-08:00The Previous Year In BooksHere is the list of books I read in 2019. Doesn't count any of the ones that I started but didn't finish. Weren't quite so many of those this year ...<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Out Of
Their League, </b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Dave
Meggyesy<br /></b></span><b><i>The Cold War's Killing Fields</i><span style="font-style: normal;">:
</span><i>Rethinking The Long Peace</i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />Paul
Thomas Chamberlin</span><i><br /><br />Things Fall Apart, C</i><span style="font-style: normal;">hinua
Achebe<br /></span><i>All That You Leave Behind</i><span style="font-style: normal;">:
</span><i>A Memoir</i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />Erin Lee
Carr</span><i><br /><br />Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow</i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />Yuval
Noah Harari<br /></span><i>Frankenstein or The Modern
Prometheus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />Mary Shelley<br /></span><i>The
Night Of The Gun: A Reporter investigates The Darkest Story Of His
Life. <br />His Own</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, David
Carr</span><i><br /><br />These Truths: A History of the United
States</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Jill Lepore</span><i><br /><br />The
Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy <br />in
Vietnam</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Max Boot</span></b></span></div>
notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-17677537832825677122019-02-17T23:18:00.000-08:002019-02-17T23:18:42.526-08:00The Cold War<span style="color: #660000;"><b>Just finished Paul Thomas Chamberlin's <i>The Cold War's Killing Fields: Rethinking the Long Peace.</i> His central premise is that the time period of 1945 to 1990, known as the Cold War, is typically and falsely thought of as a time of 'peace' between the two superpowers, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. While it's true that the two never went directly to war the desire of each to influence events and shape the destinies of other countries led to a great deal of conflict which was then exacerbated by the two of them seeing every regional or civil war as being absolutely critical in the 'grand scheme' of things.<br /><br />The narrative is in three parts. In the first part, Third World revolutions occur in areas recently freed from colonial domination. He looks especially at China, where a Communist Revolution succeeded under the leadership of Mao Zedong (and others), at Korea, where the two forces first opposed each other in a proxy war, at Vietnam where determined resistance to foreign interference proved decisive and also briefly at Indonesia and Pakistan/Bangla Desh. Part one saw revolutions sparked by Marxism and nationalism triumph (for the most part).</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #660000;"><b>In part two he examines the splintering of any international communist momentum as regional/national interests caused various otherwise aligned parties to fight each other, highlighted by the 'Sino-Soviet split.'<br /><br />Part three takes us to the Middle East where revolutions erupted based not on the Capitalism vs. Communism clash but with millions of people rallying around ethnic and religious ties. As before though, the two superpowers picked sides and vied for influence creating uneasy alliances, sometimes with recent adversaries.<br /><br />At the end of the 80's the collapse of the Soviet Union left the United States as the winner of the Cold War. But what had they won? </b></span>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-56591878765112403622019-01-02T01:21:00.000-08:002019-01-02T01:21:00.534-08:00The Year In Books, 2018
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b>The Impossible
Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office<br /></b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Jeremi
Suri<br /><br /></b></span><b><i>God: A Human History</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
Reza Aslan<br /><br /></span><i>JFK's Last Hundred Days: The
Transformation Of A Man and The Emergence Of A Great President,
</i><span style="font-style: normal;">Thurston Clarke<br /><br /></span><i>Genghis
Khan and the Making of the Modern World, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Jack
Weatherford<br /><br /></span><i>Genghis Khan and the Quest For God: </i><span style="font-style: normal;">How
the World's Greatest Conqueror Gave Us Religious Freedom, Jack
Weatherford<br /><br /></span><i>Collision of Wills: Johnny Unitas, Don
Shula, and the Rise of the Modern NFL</i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br />Jack
Gilden<br /><br /></span><i>The War Before The War: Fugitive Slaves and
the Struggle For America's Soul From the Revolution to the Civil War</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
<br />Andrew Delbanco</span></b></div>
notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-26667602675443074772018-10-29T21:00:00.001-07:002021-02-06T16:01:28.332-08:00Genghis KhanI finished <u>Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World </u>recently. (Author Jack Weatherford.) <b>Some thoughts follow ...<br /><br />From the dust jacket:<br /><br />"The Mongol Army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in twenty-five years than the Romans did in four hundred. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization. Vastly more progressive than his European or Asian counterparts, Genghis Khan abolished torture, granted universal religious freedom, and smashed feudal systems of aristocratic privilege. From the story of his rise through the tribal culture to the explosion of civilization that the Mongol Empire unleashed this brilliant work of revisionist history is nothing less than the epic story of how the modern world was made."<br /><br />First off, that's the first time I've ever seen 'revisionist history' used proudly ; )<br /><br />In the comments I'm going to lay out some of the themes Weatherford's narrative evokes. Starting tonight yet ; )</b>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-88886139250056310242018-08-07T01:04:00.002-07:002018-08-07T01:04:23.076-07:00New Computer<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I got a new computer today ...</span></b>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-10465825231271406242018-01-19T17:21:00.000-08:002018-01-19T17:23:47.920-08:00Letter to Wisconsin State Journal<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: maroon;">I read George Will's columns, when I do, knowing that his blend of snark and ultraconservative ideology is seldom illuminating and only occasionally entertaining. His take on Oregon's semi-concession to practicality in allowing some self-service gas stations to begin operation is mildly amusing, but he also unconsciously shares with us a bit of skewed, 'white' thinking when he refers to Oregon as "the state that was settled by people who trekked there on the Oregon trail." This statement presupposes that Oregon was 'unsettled' until these (white) 'settlers' arrived.<br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"></span> </span></span></span></b><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: maroon;">From Wikipedia: "By the 16th Century, Oregon was home to many Native American groups, including the Chinook, Coquille, Bannock, Chasta, Kalapuya, Klamath, Klickitat, Molalla, Nez Perce, Takelma, Killamuk, Neah-kah-nie, Umatilla and Umpqua." All of them 'civilized' and all of them quite 'settled.' </span></strong><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: maroon;">Anyone care to guess why he so easily discounts them?</span></strong><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-35800988745176399322018-01-05T21:15:00.003-08:002018-01-05T21:21:05.790-08:00Better Late Than NeverHere is the list of books that I read in 2017. It's the shortest list since I've started keeping track; not sure why, especially ...<br />
<br />
Bush, Jean Edward Smith<br />
<br />
Stranger In A Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein<br />
<br />
A Struggle For Power: The American Revolution<br />
Theodore Draper<br />
<br />
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe<br />
Laurence Bergreen<br />
<br />
Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, Charles Leerhsen<br />
<br />
Millennium: From Religion to Revolution: How Civilization Has Changed Over a Thousand Years, Ian Mortimer<br />
<br />
The Year The Yankees Lost The Pennant, Douglass Wallop<br />
<br />
Sting Like A Bee: Muhammad Ali vs. The United States of America, 1966-1971<br />
Leigh Montville<br />
<br />
Eisenhower, In War and Peace, Jean Edward Smith<br />
<br />
LIES My Teacher Told Me, James Loewennotacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-44121801149568389982017-10-18T19:19:00.000-07:002017-10-18T19:19:33.998-07:00Here's My Latest Letter ...<strong><span style="color: maroon;">A letter Wednesday, 'Criminals
Will Get Guns Anyway,' reports that "only between 3 percent and 11
percent of criminals who used guns purchased them legally," claiming
that making it harder to buy guns legally won't make a difference. But
this ignores the obvious problem with the equation. Nothing ever
happens to the 'illegal' seller. Suppose there were strong penalties
for selling firearms in any manner except one prescribed by law. And
the penalty for violations were to be commensurate with the crime
committed with the firearm in question. So the seller might wind up
being charged with being complicit in mass murder. Might that make a
difference?</span></strong>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-9580876645983839852017-09-26T17:38:00.000-07:002017-09-26T17:38:04.855-07:00Taking A Knee<strong><span style="color: maroon;">My latest letter to the editor ...<br /><br />As has become common, a
'controversy' has arisen inviting us all to 'pick a side' and insist
that the 'other side' is (choose one) unpatriotic, bigoted, just plain
stupid. One adjective that seems out of place though is
'disrespectful.' How is quietly going to one knee instead of standing
'disrespecting the flag'? It may be 'nontraditional' but traditions
change. Already, prior to this, more than one posture has been
accepted, mostly regarding what one does with one's hands. So here's a
new posture. While honoring the flag, and the Republic for which it
stands, the kneeler is reminding us that some of our fellow citizens are
still not able to fully realize 'the blessings of liberty' mentioned in
the preamble to the Constitution. </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: maroon;">When Tim Tebow assumed the same posture he was never accused of 'disrespecting' anything ... </span></strong>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-69831286981445315812017-02-12T16:35:00.000-08:002017-02-12T16:35:59.825-08:00Here's A New ...... Letter To The Editor<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: maroon;">I thank Jeff Bust for
writing and the Wisconsin State Journal for running Sunday's column,
'I'm Still Glad I Voted For Trump.' Very illuminating. </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: maroon;">His
views on most issues, he declares, are "not attractive ... " And he's
tired of being "guilted" for "having a job, etc." He has decided that
any 'guilting' isn't about his unattractive (and unstated) views, which
would be about him, but rather about his "finding a way to live
comfortably." So it's really about them and their unreasonableness. </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: maroon;">He
feels "this country does not have the right to spend future taxpayers’
money." But candidate Trump didn't campaign on fiscal responsibility
and President Trump has not made it a priority. His priorities have been a 'Muslim ban' and a border wall; features of his campaign.</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: maroon;">Finally,
"I don't like Trump either." But, "I voted for Trump because we can't
afford another president we simply like. We need one who does
something." And "I am happier with my vote every day." </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: maroon;">So
either doing 'something,' is all this Trump voter needs (doubtful) or,
fiscal protestations aside, what he really wanted all along was what
candidate Trump proposed. So why, then, doesn't he like him?</span></strong>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-39679429095377076892017-01-19T22:25:00.000-08:002017-01-20T00:49:32.220-08:00A Struggle For PowerI'm reading Theodore Draper's <i>A Struggle For Power: The American Revolution</i>. Somebody recommended it to me.<br />
<br />
<i>A Struggle For Power</i> is a 'startlingly original and magisterial account of the causes and nature of the American Revolution.'<br />
<br />
Chapter One is the Seven Years War and what the implications were for 'the Colonies.' After an unpromising beginning it began to become evident in 1760 that Great Britain would 'win' the American version of the Seven Years War. A 'pamphlet war' then began as various pamphleteers attempted to make a case for what the spoils should be. The French would cede Canada OR Guadalupe, their largest 'sugar island' in the West Indies. Economically Guadalupe was probably worth more but Canada had economic benefits too and immense territory. And was contiguous. <br />
<br />
Much of the debate revolved around which would keep the colonies 'in line.' Leave the French in Canada to keep the colonies dependent on 'the mother country' for defense? Franklin, living in England at the time, was among those arguing that there was no need to worry about the loyalties of the colonists.<br />
<br />
Chapter Two looks back to the origins of the colonies, starting with Jamestown, and the fact that they were corporate, for-profit, expeditions. Their charters granted them a great deal of autonomy and the fact that they were left to raise and spend revenues as needed and as they were able created self-sufficient political entities.<br />
<br />
I'll begin Chapter Three tonight ...notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-71349996007357253602017-01-06T01:45:00.000-08:002017-01-27T17:58:06.943-08:00Books I Read In 2016<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">The
Boo</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,
Pat Conroy<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">From
the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;"><br />Pinkaj
Mishra<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">One
Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian
America</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,<br />Kevin
M. Kruse<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">The
First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,<br />H.
W. Brands<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">Einstein:
His Life and Universe</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,
Walter Isaacson<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">Once
In A Great City: A Detroit Story,</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">David
Maraniss<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">Being
Nixon: A Man Divided</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,
Evan Thomas<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">Set
Point</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,
Mark Porter<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">John
Lennon: The Life</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,
Philip Norman<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">Duel
On The Cinders</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,
Mark Porter<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="background: transparent;">FDR</span></b></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: transparent;">,
Jean Edward Smith<br /><br /></span></b></span></span></span></span></div>
notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-61598285563669715352016-12-08T22:56:00.000-08:002016-12-08T22:57:13.660-08:00Grays 45's 2016 Season<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="color: #674ea7;">The Grays began the 2016 MABL season
with high expectations. Champions in 2014 they felt that one bad day
against the eventual champion Bears had cost them the prize in 2015.
<br /><br />A 10-6 win in the season-opener against the defending regular
season champion Crawfords showed them to be clicking on all
cylinders. In game two however they encountered a new hurdle: the
expansion Sand Crabs, who humbled the short-handed Grays, 13-2.
<br /><br />This would be an unfortunate theme to the Grays' season as
they moved out to a 6-2 first half, both losses coming against the
new powerhouse. Then injuries began to take a toll. Offensive MVP
Tom Hopkins missed the entire second half with an oblique injury and
Pitcher/Shortstop Greg Gaber played as well as he could with a
painful groin pull. Left-handed Pitcher/Catcher and big hitter Dave
Keene missed eight games with a back injury which eventually required
surgery. <br /><br />Still the remaining players soldiered on, augmented
by the return of Kevin Mack who missed the first half due to work
obligations. As the tournament began they appeared to be hitting
their stride again and they knocked off the Bears (now called the
Brewers) in a rematch of last season's semi-final game, 11-6. But
waiting for them in the championship round was their new nemesis, the
Sand Crabs, who had nearly run the table in the regular season, going
15-1. On that final Sunday the Sand Crabs showed why they were
undisputed 2016 champions, scoring five runs in the first two innings
and holding the Grays to just two hits in a 7-0 whitewashing. <br /><br />High
points of the season were their 5-1 stretch from May 8<sup>th</sup>
through July 10th and some stellar individual performances,
including:<br /><br />Bob Schwalb's 31 hits and 18 stolen bases in 17
games<br />Glenn Griffin's 18 hits and 22 steals in 16 games<br />Greg
Gaber's 16 RBI in 16 games<br />Dave Keene and Andy Sutherland,
brothers-in-law who each hit over .400, and finally<br />Milt Friend
who completed his 73<sup>rd</sup> season of playing baseball, and
finally called it a career at age 80</span></b></div>
notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-81060500667638240682016-03-24T17:39:00.000-07:002016-03-24T17:39:58.379-07:00Republicans: Not Automatically Better Than Democrats (I Mean, Come On, Seriously?)
<span style="color: #660000;">Maybe read this first. Mine is rebuttal to it.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;">http://host.madison.com/wsj/opinion/column/ken-berg-the-case-for-john-kasich-is-strong-in/article_71a9ab93-950d-5b80-9a98-3f870182f7f8.html</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #660000;">In Thursday's guest Column, The case for John Kasich is strong in
Wisconsin, the author's 'important point' is nominating a candidate
who can " ... bring a Republican into the White House after
eight long years of disappointment in Barack Obama." I
suppose this makes sense to someone who takes it as a given that a
Republican is always better than a Democrat for president. <br /><br />I
was born at the end of the Eisenhower administration, the last of a
certain type of Republican president. Since then we've had
eight years of Democrats, JFK and LBJ, who set us on the path to the
moon and back and kicked off a technological revolution the benefits
of which still redound to us today, and The Civil Rights and Voting
Rights Acts. And some questionable decisions involving Vietnam.
<br /><br />Following that we got eight years of one Republican who
initially doubled down on Vietnam, despite having sensed the mood of
the electorate and campaigned as the peace candidate, and his
hand-picked successor, whose principal 'accomplishment' was to pardon
his predecessor, who had resigned under threat of impeachment, for
any and all crimes committed during his time as president.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">
</span><span style="color: #660000;">Four years of a Democrat who at least tried to get us pointed in
the right direction again, energy-wise and in world affairs.
Twelve years of Republicans who assured us that we had been on the
right path all along and pulled out the credit card so we could have
low taxes and high spending, and got too much credit for 'winning the
Cold War.' Eight years of a Democrat who, personal peccadilloes
aside, oversaw a nicely growing economy and pursued a fairly
non-interventionist foreign policy. And eight years of a
Republican on whose watch the economy crashed and who started an
ill-defined and horribly executed global war that to this point has
accomplished a lot more bad then good.<br /><br />And now 'eight long
years (actually still closer to seven) of disappointment' in the
Democrat who has overseen a steadily improving economy and whose big
'failure' is that he hasn't single-handedly turned the world into a
peaceful utopia. <br /><br />And yet still I should vote
Republican, no matter what?</span><br />
notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-74516500322785806842016-02-25T11:09:00.001-08:002016-02-25T11:09:33.363-08:00They Didn't Print the Last Letter, So ...So that means I can send another one in already. So I did:<br /><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: maroon;">I would
like to ask anyone who defends the idea of 'originalism' regarding
the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution if they also
feel that way about a fundamental American idea, expressed in
America's other founding document, The Declaration of Independence.
Second paragraph, first line. 'We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all MEN are created equal ... '</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: maroon;">Are
we SURE we don't want to allow interpretation of our founding
documents to evolve over time?</span></strong>
</div>
<br />notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-39300191617268877052016-02-14T15:56:00.001-08:002016-02-14T15:56:49.554-08:00About Time For ...<b>... a new letter to the editor, isn't it?</b><br /><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<strong><span style="color: maroon;">Two
letters in Sunday's WSJ attempt to 'solve' the 'labor shortage' issue
in the U.S. One proposes to create 'private labor offices'
south of the border to funnel documented workers northward. The
other calls for a 'civilian draft,' to legally require the draftees
to do the less desirable jobs. </span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: maroon;">Is
there a compelling reason why we can't just allow the price to
'float' to the intersection of supply and demand? Is that
'un-American,' or something? If it's 'wrong' to artificially
boost wages in the fast food industry, why is it OK to artificially
suppress them in other fields? Roofing work is mentioned in the
second letter. Physical labor, out in the elements, with an
element of danger. 'The market' says higher wages are called
for. Who is it that's looking to game the market? And
why?</span></strong>
</div>
<br /><br />notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-83100123330993302652016-01-12T15:51:00.003-08:002016-01-12T15:51:43.162-08:00Possible Next ReadThis caught my eye on 'my' Amazon page so I clicked on it to see what it was all about.<br /><br />
<h1 class="a-size-large a-spacing-none" id="title">
<span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle">Despicable Meme: The Absurdity and Immorality of Modern Religion</span></h1>
Turns out it's only available on Kindle so I guess I won't be getting it. Sounds interesting though.<br /><br />"Despicable Meme is D. Cameron Webb’s brief but biting assault on the
wide spectrum of religiosity that dominates 21st century America, from
the hateful and anti-intellectual dogma of the Christian Right to the
whitewashed progressivism of religious moderates. It is also a
fascinating and humbling journey into the heart of the universe's most
mind-numbing wonders.
<br />
<br />"Drawing on recent insights from cosmology and evolution, Despicable
Meme paints a vivid portrait of a cosmos unlike anything ever imagined
by the provincial, human-centered faiths of the past – a universe of
countless worlds spread across unfathomable distances and times, and
where, on at least one of those worlds, the slow march of time would
combine with the purposeless mechanisms of chemistry and physics to
create a being capable of believing that he alone is the reason for it
all.
<br />
<br />"With piercing intelligence and candor, Despicable Meme exposes the
folly of that conceit and dispenses with the widespread but utterly
improbable notion of a personal creator. But it saves its harshest
criticism for the vapid accommodationism of religious liberals, those
who unknowingly or uncaringly give cover to the misogynistic, racist,
homophobic paranoia of the fanatics by refusing to condemn, or quietly
tolerating, the outlandish and immoral doctrines that lie festering at
the center of their own “moderate” faiths.
<br />
<br />"Despicable Meme is not only a blistering condemnation of radical
fundamentalism, it is an impassioned appeal to the rest of us to once
and for all abandon the superstitions of the religion we were raised in
and embrace the beauty of an endlessly wondrous, but godless, universe."notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-32717136623838230882015-12-31T22:03:00.001-08:002015-12-31T22:08:52.559-08:00The Year In BooksApparently I finished nine books this year. I started more like fifteen. It was a funny year ...<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><b>The Kennedy Half
Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy<br />of John
F. Kennedy</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>, Larry
Sabato</b></span><br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><b><br /></b></span><b><i>Team of Rivals: The Political Genius
of Abraham Lincoln</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,<br />Doris
Kearns Goodwin<br /><br /></span><i>Sapiens: A Brief History of
Humankind</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Yuval Noah
Harari<br /><br /></span><i>The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall
of New York</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Robert A.
Caro<br /><br /></span><i>One Nation Under Gods: A New American
History</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Peter Manseau<br /><br /></span><i>1453:
The Holy War For Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the
West</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Roger Crowley<br /><br /></span><i>A
Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam,</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Neil
Sheehan<br /><br /></span><i>Dissent: The History of an American
Idea,</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Ralph Young<br /><br /></span><i>The
Wright Brothers, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">David
McCullough</span></b></div>
<br />notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-20269490687380373672015-08-26T23:35:00.000-07:002015-08-26T23:37:52.108-07:00Letter to EditorHere's my most recent letter to the editor of the Wisconsin State Journal. After years of getting every letter I send in published (even though they hack them up sometimes) I've had my last two not see print. And haven't sent one in two or three months. But anyway, here it is:<br />
<br />
<div>
<b>I'm afraid I have to disagree with the main point of a
Thursday letter (Pitts didn't address the whole problem). He starts by
missing the point of Pitts' analogy (fix what's obviously broken, then
work on other issues). The letter's point is that unless something is
done about 'black on black' crime it will do no good to address the
issue of biased law enforcement. I suppose you could argue that black
perpetrators aren't treated any differently by the police than white
perpetrators but you can't really argue that even if they are, nothing
should be done until 'black on black' crime ceases completely, can you?
There will always be black on black crime, as there will always be
white on black, black on white, white on white, male on female, female
on male, dog on cat (can I stop now?). </b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>The
statement that Pitts finds fault with, 'All Lives Matter,' isn't wrong,
of course, they do. Were it to say All Lives Matter EQUALLY I think
'both sides' could agree. Yes? Or how about, Black lives matter TOO?</b>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-73596981169129484112015-06-07T20:22:00.000-07:002015-06-07T20:22:10.162-07:00Well Here's a New Letter to the Editor (Imagine that) ...<span style="color: #660000;">Among the many 'discussion points' provided by the writer of the Sunday letter, Secular Left Has No Moral Authority On Abortion, it is his final question that I will address.<br /><br />"How can a secular atheist logically question my morality when their worldview does not believe objective morality even exists?"<br /><br />I can't even answer the question for him, as it rests on a flawed assumption, that 'objective morality' exists. It doesn't; it can't. If it did it would follow that somewhere there is an object that can be consulted when we have a question on whether or not something is 'moral.' And further that we accept that the object can't be wrong. No, if we wish to know whether something is or is not 'moral' we can only consult our fellow subjects. Since no one of us is recognized as an ultimate authority we do the only thing that we <b>can</b> do. We discuss, we argue. Ultimately we decide. Collectively. 'Morality' is subjective, as is all knowledge.</span>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-47179111921010649572015-05-15T12:58:00.000-07:002015-05-15T12:58:07.030-07:00Here's My Latest<span style="color: blue;"><b>A letter Friday purports to address the failure of 'liberalism' toward 'Black America.' It's short on specifics but it does have two bold statements which I take to be its main points. First, "Black people in America have dug a hole they may never get out of by allowing liberalism to rule their lives." If a hole was dug out of which 'Black people in America' may never get out, it was dug by slavery. Yes, slavery in America ended 150 years ago, but its legacies live on. Current wealth disparities between the 'races' can be directly traced to the fact that at the time America was expanding to its current geographic configuration and the real estate was being distributed, African-Americans weren't allowed to participate. Add on 100 years of Jim Crow laws and de facto discriminatory policies in the northern states, when African-Americans were kept out of the 'good' neighborhoods and many of the best paying jobs and we come about to where the letter's second bold statement begins.<br /><br />"The liberal Democratic Party has had its foot on the chest of black people for 60 years with promises that aren't kept." What began sixty years ago? Is this a reference to Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled that racial discrimination in public education was unconstitutional? Or the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was also resolved in federal court, with a ruling that racial discrimination in public facilities was also unconstitutional? There were some promises made there, starting with equal access. Those promises have been kept. Or did the letter writer do the math wrong and he really meant 50 years, with the passage of The Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act? Two more kept promises. <br /><br />Inquiring minds want to know.</b></span>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-77959621972695907202015-02-27T15:54:00.002-08:002015-02-27T15:54:43.465-08:00Spock, Logic, ... Conservative?"<span data-reactid=".3h.1:3:1:$comment1006347762728033_1006384112724398:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".3h.1:3:1:$comment1006347762728033_1006384112724398:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".3h.1:3:1:$comment1006347762728033_1006384112724398:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".3h.1:3:1:$comment1006347762728033_1006384112724398:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">Spock should become the mascot of the Conservative movement... 'LOGIC', not emotions."<br /><br />This was somebody's comment on facebook today, on a post featuring a picture of Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek character Spock, with the word 'LOGIC' as a caption. I didn't reply there because I don't know the person and don't know how she would react to my thoughts on the matter and I've learned over the years that I don't need to engage with everybody with whom I disagree, but I do want to say a few things.<br /><br />First, I guess I have to assume some things regarding what the commenter means by the 'Conservative movement.' Typically we hear calls for 'smaller government,' 'lower taxes,' fewer regulations on business, and sometimes an even broader interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Is favoring those things logical, and is opposing them therefore illogical? I certainly don't see it but I'm willing to hear the case made, I guess. What I tend to hear, though, is appeals to emotion. This is true of 'both sides' in political debates, of course. Humans are emotional beings and if you want to sway them an appeal to their emotions is generally quite effective. <br /><br />Would it be 'better' if politicians appealed to our logic more and our emotions less? Maybe. I know I would prefer it. I recently referred to myself as 'a Spock, not a Kirk,' when suggesting what would be the best way to appeal to me. Do 'Conservative' politicians appeal more to logic than their counterparts? I certainly don't see it. Does anybody? Listen to the noise coming from CPAC these last couple days. Is that anything BUT appeals to emotion? Logic would indicate that compromise is the only way Congress can govern, in our system. Do 'Conservatives' acknowledge that? Which ones? Jeb Bush? You certainly don't win points at CPAC calling for compromise.<br /><br />Fascinating ...</span></span></span></span>notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322724229017866228.post-24436049284897456802015-01-16T14:31:00.000-08:002015-01-16T14:31:02.304-08:00Here's a New One<span style="color: blue;"><b>My latest letter to the editor:</b></span><br /><br />
<div>
<div>
<span style="color: #660000;"><b>For probably the first time ever Charles Krauthammer, President Obama and I all agree on something (sort of). Chuck and I agree that the President is 'ambivalent' about the 'war on terror.'
The President and I agree that ambivalence (at least) is the way to
feel. Because while we do despise terrorism and condemn the people and
groups that practice it we also detest war. How could we not be ambivalent?<br /><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="color: #660000;"><b>So
here's something I want you to consider. It won't be the first time
you've heard this, either. Maybe (just maybe), after thirteen years and
counting of a 'War On Terror,' with no end in sight, MAYBE we need to
consider the possibility that 'War Is Not The Answer.'<br /><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="color: #660000;"><b>You think?</b></span><br />notacynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01402993156690698642noreply@blogger.com5