What your reader Brad Speer predicts with such certainty terrifies my family and me. One wonders if he is related to Albert, by any chance, sharing seemingly similar definitions of "greatness" in leaders as German Albert Speer held. My family members and I are making sure our passports are up to date. We take as models of courage the brave souls who decided to leave their beloved home countries and seek safe harbor elsewhere when monsters took charge of their home. We cannot imagine not living in America, but increasingly we do not recognize this America and the America we thought we knew still lives in our memories and can be taken with us wherever we go. It is beyond understanding to realize that there are so many who are so willing, eager even, to destroy this precious experiment in government and society. What fools these mortals be.....
In your Post to the Host today you wrote: "When I was in high school, I read the Diary of Anne Frank and was stunned by it. She felt like a friend. I thought I knew her better than I knew my cousins or classmates. I hope people are still reading the book. GK"
You must be aware that The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the many outstanding books that are being maligned with calls that it should be banned. The upside is that those of us that are appalled by this banning movement are also heartened by the fact that many more readers will seek out such titles. Although such readers may be reading them for the wrong reasons, one has to hope that they will come to realize the importance of these books and glean something of value from them.
My sister and I were also stunned by "The Diary of Anne Frank" when we were in high school and passed it along to our mother, who had never read it - she graduated in 1946 and didn't have the opportunity to go to college. She identified with Anne because they were close to the same age and she even resembled her when she was a teenager. The book made a deep impression on her - she never knew much about the Holocaust until they started showing documentaries about it on TV. She didn't restricted our reading and was always happy when we recommended books we enjoyed to her.
Carol - I agree and hope that the banning of books makes them more attractive to people who would benefit from reading them.
If I never hear the word "woke" again it will be too soon. I used to enjoy watching Bill Maher until he devolved into simply a contrarian curmudgeon who is in love with using the word "woke" as a constant pejorative. "Woke" began life as a word to describe those who have become aware of the many failings of our society and strove to correct them. It was later corrupted by the far right. I am aware that, as usually happens, some have taken their "wokeness" to ridiculous heights, but the original meaning remains sound. Please do not ride on the far-right's bandwagon. I am certain that a writer such as yourself can come up with a better term for those who take their "wokeness" too far.
I feel exactly the same about Steve Colbert as you do about Bill Maher...! Both desperately trying to be mainstream, Maher with is obsessions and Colbert with his sad sarcasm. What ever happened to late night TV, anyway?
"When I was in high school, I read the Diary of Anne Frank and was stunned by it. She felt like a friend. I thought I knew her better than I knew my cousins or classmates."
I read "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" at twelve, and was heartbroken that I could never marry Francie Nolan.
It probably isn't "tuckpointing"; most likely it's pointing or repointing. Tuckpointing is a specific decorative application of different colored mortar "tucked" into the mortar joint. It was originally done as a means for making irregular brick sizes appear uniform, then it became purely decorative. Pointing and repointing are differing repair techniques. In addition to having generally lost the trade skills of past generations, we've also lost the meaning of words. There is even a graduate level dissertation on origins of the bastardization of the term "tuckpointing", having started in Chicago (my town)....in case anyone's interested....
It is indeed a sad state of affairs when an uneducated trumpsucker voices its concerns whilst being demonstrably unaware that this Orange Buffoon tried to eradicate our democracy. drumpf is nothing more than a failed game show host and an absolute stain on society. The sooner "God disposes" this tangerine bacterium, the sooner our country can attempt to heal.
I "stole " this as it fits right into an ongoing discussion on my fakebook page by two of my 'friends.' I am just watching with my mouth hanging open so I'll interject with this to help the embers flare....thanx.
I won't, either. Unless the "Republican" Party somehow becomes the party of Lincoln again and some aspiring dictator manages to gain control of the Democratic Party and most other Democratic politicians then embrace election denial and build their campaign strategies around pitting us against each other, collectively undermining our democratic institutions and making a mockery of the concept of liberty and justice for all. In such a scenario I would have to become a staunch Republican. I don't see it happening in my lifetime.
Reading your books you see as many do that words are important. People wield "woke" "CRT" "progressive" "liberal" "Conservative" etc. as if we have fixed definition/understanding. We do not. Often these are used as pejoratives because people cannot discuss issues without name calling. Responding to a recent post by Brad Speer, to call Trump, Justice Thomas and the Republican house caucus Conservative is offensive. The original basic tenets of Conservatism has yielded to current authoritarian politics. The basic beliefs in individual freedom, human dignity, rule of law, limited governmental intrusion, and fiscal integrity are not seen today in the bulk of the MAGA republicans. We cannot have a rational debate on specific issues unless we can use the english language with some level of precision.
On the subject of leaving spouses behind: when the second wife of Roger Angell (who died this year at 101) died, Mr. Angell entered into a domestic partnership with Margaret Moorman. Mr. Angell was 93. I can't recall his quote exactly, but it was very close to "it's a real pleasure to wake up next to someone". I guess he understood Genesis 2:18?
GK, can you fill us in on the cause you are fighting for, lost or otherwise? Seems to me it is only lost to Mr. Speer because he deletes without reading. Stupidity is one thing while ignorance is yet another.
Hello Garrison, what a couple of weeks have passed for me, do you have time for small chat-I would like to share?
Ugh, anyway, I’m Daedalus of the toxic firearm point of view— but please let me continue. My cousin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and faces a challenge greater than you and me posturing Mano-a-Mano.
And if any right thinking person thinks they obtain a gun easier than getting their learner’s permit, they are djt accolites.
Man I’m so pissed you wrote you couldn’t be friends with me. I’ll get over it, but I will drag my injured wing through the wetlands for a long time.
So hey, I gotta go. Hang on to what makes you happy.
"A great man who is under attack from all sides." Apparently not from all sides, but, okay... A man who stiffs everyone he hires. Who tells racist traitors to stand back and stand by. Who pits Americans against each other as a matter of political strategy. Who lies about everything. Who puts minorities, and really anyone who disagrees with him in danger of physical violence to gain power. Who refuses to recognize that he lost or could ever lose any election and encourages the rest of his political party to do the same--the effect of which is to push the country away from democracy and towards some form of fascism. And, now that he is losing popularity, who openly embraces conspiracy theories, consequences be damned. That's your idea of a great man?
I don't think our country has ever come closer to having its own fascist period. The party that is supposed to represent conservatism has turned ugly and dangerous and completely lost its grip on reality. We need to put this garbage behind us, soon. Our best hope for surviving with our democracy intact is that enough conservative patriots will see this, realize that we have to stop viewing politics as a team sport and have the good sense to vote for Democrats until the "GOP" returns to some semblance of sanity and acceptance of reality.
While I was in the seminary I listened to you during commute. You were doing limericks on the "Prairie Home Morning Show. One of my friends did one including the word "exegesis" which was beyond my ability at the time. So much fun then and I'm glad to read you now too. BTW I once served you a glass of Grain Belt beer while you were awaiting at friend at the Black Forest Inn!
Just how does one properly submit a "Post to the Host" comment? I can't find any instruction. They don't seem to be taken from this section to which I am currently posting a comment.
What your reader Brad Speer predicts with such certainty terrifies my family and me. One wonders if he is related to Albert, by any chance, sharing seemingly similar definitions of "greatness" in leaders as German Albert Speer held. My family members and I are making sure our passports are up to date. We take as models of courage the brave souls who decided to leave their beloved home countries and seek safe harbor elsewhere when monsters took charge of their home. We cannot imagine not living in America, but increasingly we do not recognize this America and the America we thought we knew still lives in our memories and can be taken with us wherever we go. It is beyond understanding to realize that there are so many who are so willing, eager even, to destroy this precious experiment in government and society. What fools these mortals be.....
Annie, I share your sentiments. I feel the same for my Texas that has become a stranger.
God needs the help of American federal government? Oh-oh!
Calm down, friend. DJT is getting weirder and weirder and he is losing support. He lost in 2020 and he'll lose badly if he's the nominee in 2024.
Dear Mr. K,
In your Post to the Host today you wrote: "When I was in high school, I read the Diary of Anne Frank and was stunned by it. She felt like a friend. I thought I knew her better than I knew my cousins or classmates. I hope people are still reading the book. GK"
You must be aware that The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the many outstanding books that are being maligned with calls that it should be banned. The upside is that those of us that are appalled by this banning movement are also heartened by the fact that many more readers will seek out such titles. Although such readers may be reading them for the wrong reasons, one has to hope that they will come to realize the importance of these books and glean something of value from them.
Carol Kelly
My sister and I were also stunned by "The Diary of Anne Frank" when we were in high school and passed it along to our mother, who had never read it - she graduated in 1946 and didn't have the opportunity to go to college. She identified with Anne because they were close to the same age and she even resembled her when she was a teenager. The book made a deep impression on her - she never knew much about the Holocaust until they started showing documentaries about it on TV. She didn't restricted our reading and was always happy when we recommended books we enjoyed to her.
Carol - I agree and hope that the banning of books makes them more attractive to people who would benefit from reading them.
If I never hear the word "woke" again it will be too soon. I used to enjoy watching Bill Maher until he devolved into simply a contrarian curmudgeon who is in love with using the word "woke" as a constant pejorative. "Woke" began life as a word to describe those who have become aware of the many failings of our society and strove to correct them. It was later corrupted by the far right. I am aware that, as usually happens, some have taken their "wokeness" to ridiculous heights, but the original meaning remains sound. Please do not ride on the far-right's bandwagon. I am certain that a writer such as yourself can come up with a better term for those who take their "wokeness" too far.
Our country has known many crritics going back to the start and welcomes new ones, but the woke have gone over the edge into vigilantism. Sorry.
I feel exactly the same about Steve Colbert as you do about Bill Maher...! Both desperately trying to be mainstream, Maher with is obsessions and Colbert with his sad sarcasm. What ever happened to late night TV, anyway?
"When I was in high school, I read the Diary of Anne Frank and was stunned by it. She felt like a friend. I thought I knew her better than I knew my cousins or classmates."
I read "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" at twelve, and was heartbroken that I could never marry Francie Nolan.
It probably isn't "tuckpointing"; most likely it's pointing or repointing. Tuckpointing is a specific decorative application of different colored mortar "tucked" into the mortar joint. It was originally done as a means for making irregular brick sizes appear uniform, then it became purely decorative. Pointing and repointing are differing repair techniques. In addition to having generally lost the trade skills of past generations, we've also lost the meaning of words. There is even a graduate level dissertation on origins of the bastardization of the term "tuckpointing", having started in Chicago (my town)....in case anyone's interested....
Thanks for the correction.
I’m pleased to make the distinction. . It’s all just fancy mud, but it’s what I do.
It is indeed a sad state of affairs when an uneducated trumpsucker voices its concerns whilst being demonstrably unaware that this Orange Buffoon tried to eradicate our democracy. drumpf is nothing more than a failed game show host and an absolute stain on society. The sooner "God disposes" this tangerine bacterium, the sooner our country can attempt to heal.
I "stole " this as it fits right into an ongoing discussion on my fakebook page by two of my 'friends.' I am just watching with my mouth hanging open so I'll interject with this to help the embers flare....thanx.
I share your disgruntlement with the Democrats. But for me it’s simple—I’ll never vote for another Republican as long as I live.
I won't, either. Unless the "Republican" Party somehow becomes the party of Lincoln again and some aspiring dictator manages to gain control of the Democratic Party and most other Democratic politicians then embrace election denial and build their campaign strategies around pitting us against each other, collectively undermining our democratic institutions and making a mockery of the concept of liberty and justice for all. In such a scenario I would have to become a staunch Republican. I don't see it happening in my lifetime.
Reading your books you see as many do that words are important. People wield "woke" "CRT" "progressive" "liberal" "Conservative" etc. as if we have fixed definition/understanding. We do not. Often these are used as pejoratives because people cannot discuss issues without name calling. Responding to a recent post by Brad Speer, to call Trump, Justice Thomas and the Republican house caucus Conservative is offensive. The original basic tenets of Conservatism has yielded to current authoritarian politics. The basic beliefs in individual freedom, human dignity, rule of law, limited governmental intrusion, and fiscal integrity are not seen today in the bulk of the MAGA republicans. We cannot have a rational debate on specific issues unless we can use the english language with some level of precision.
On the subject of leaving spouses behind: when the second wife of Roger Angell (who died this year at 101) died, Mr. Angell entered into a domestic partnership with Margaret Moorman. Mr. Angell was 93. I can't recall his quote exactly, but it was very close to "it's a real pleasure to wake up next to someone". I guess he understood Genesis 2:18?
GK, can you fill us in on the cause you are fighting for, lost or otherwise? Seems to me it is only lost to Mr. Speer because he deletes without reading. Stupidity is one thing while ignorance is yet another.
I think I was being dramatic. Sorry.
Hello Garrison, what a couple of weeks have passed for me, do you have time for small chat-I would like to share?
Ugh, anyway, I’m Daedalus of the toxic firearm point of view— but please let me continue. My cousin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and faces a challenge greater than you and me posturing Mano-a-Mano.
And if any right thinking person thinks they obtain a gun easier than getting their learner’s permit, they are djt accolites.
Man I’m so pissed you wrote you couldn’t be friends with me. I’ll get over it, but I will drag my injured wing through the wetlands for a long time.
So hey, I gotta go. Hang on to what makes you happy.
Daedalus
Don't take it personally. I never met you. It was one of those big sweeping generalizations.
I’ll be a suck-egg mule, my nom de literati obscuro has been blown up. Maybe it is literatomus…
A man with the surname of Speer
made his ignorance abundantly clear
methinks he is wrong
but I will go along
tho I'm grinning from ear to ear
"A great man who is under attack from all sides." Apparently not from all sides, but, okay... A man who stiffs everyone he hires. Who tells racist traitors to stand back and stand by. Who pits Americans against each other as a matter of political strategy. Who lies about everything. Who puts minorities, and really anyone who disagrees with him in danger of physical violence to gain power. Who refuses to recognize that he lost or could ever lose any election and encourages the rest of his political party to do the same--the effect of which is to push the country away from democracy and towards some form of fascism. And, now that he is losing popularity, who openly embraces conspiracy theories, consequences be damned. That's your idea of a great man?
I don't think our country has ever come closer to having its own fascist period. The party that is supposed to represent conservatism has turned ugly and dangerous and completely lost its grip on reality. We need to put this garbage behind us, soon. Our best hope for surviving with our democracy intact is that enough conservative patriots will see this, realize that we have to stop viewing politics as a team sport and have the good sense to vote for Democrats until the "GOP" returns to some semblance of sanity and acceptance of reality.
While I was in the seminary I listened to you during commute. You were doing limericks on the "Prairie Home Morning Show. One of my friends did one including the word "exegesis" which was beyond my ability at the time. So much fun then and I'm glad to read you now too. BTW I once served you a glass of Grain Belt beer while you were awaiting at friend at the Black Forest Inn!
Just how does one properly submit a "Post to the Host" comment? I can't find any instruction. They don't seem to be taken from this section to which I am currently posting a comment.