A Friendly Letter

Mastriano & the Bishops: A Catholic Religious Crisis in the (Onetime) Quaker State

[NOTE: Sure, Quakers may have started it all in Pennsylvania, back in 1680. But this year, the relative handful of Friends left there (about 11,000, give or take a few hundred) occupy a tiny back row up in the nosebleed section of state’s rowdy political stadium, especially compared to the mass of Keystone Catholics, who … Continue reading Mastriano & the Bishops: A Catholic Religious Crisis in the (Onetime) Quaker State →

Oscar Wilde – On His Release From Prison

Today, May 19, is when Oscar Wilde was released from prison in Reading England. That was in 1897. Once the darling of literary London and high society, Wilde’s brilliant career had been destroyed by a scandal involving young male prostitutes and a prosecution he largely brought on himself. Wilde had served two years of hard … Continue reading Oscar Wilde – On His Release From Prison →

White House Protected Big Profits for Big Pork & Big Poultry While Big Waves of Pandemic took down thousands of Unprotected plant Workers

NOTE: Much of the public, after two-plus grueling years of Covid, seems determined to forget all that as rapidly as possible. My hat is off to ProPublica for staying on one of the big buried scandals of this period: how Trump officials colluded with corporate lobbyists from Big Meat to minimize worker protection while maximizing … Continue reading White House Protected Big Profits for Big Pork & Big Poultry While Big Waves of Pandemic took down thousands of Unprotected plant Workers →

Why Madison Cawthorn Was The Biggest Winner In the NC Primary.

Simple: Because in narrowly losing his congressional seat, he won, by a landslide — A chance. A chance for a second chance. Until a few days ago, I was ready to simply cheer if Cawthorn lost: my largest cup for schadenfreude was more than ready to run over. But then I read a long, deeply … Continue reading Why Madison Cawthorn Was The Biggest Winner In the NC Primary. →

New Nordic Math: NATO+ Finland & Sweden = VLAD’s Ukraine Boomerang

Opinion: Thanks, Vladimir Putin, for greatly strengthening NATO From Max Boot  – May 17, 2022, in The Washington Post . . . The unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine has given the [NATO] alliance a new lease on life, making it more politically united and militarily formidable than at any time since the end of the Cold … Continue reading New Nordic Math: NATO+ Finland & Sweden = VLAD’s Ukraine Boomerang →