National Defense and House Integrity

This week House Speaker Kevin McCarthy officially denied seats on the House Intelligence Committee to Democratic Representatives Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff. In his letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Speaker McCarthy explains, “I cannot put partisan loyalty ahead of national security, and I cannot simply recognize years of service as the sole criteria

Community as a Verb

Here in North Carolina, high school wrestling (folk style) is not a popular sport. But the participants and their fans are resigned to that and share an almost religious dedication and appreciation to the sport. This past weekend was sandwiched by two high school dual meets, one on Friday night and then one on Monday

A Muddle of Words Is a Bed of Mud

A reader of my blog pointed out a recent error of mine. The reader told me that I had made a mistake when I wrote that the word niggardly had association with the n-word when in fact it had no etymological connection with the racist term. I was surprised because, while I respected the reader

Selzer and Bellinger

In the January 1976 issue of Esquire magazine is an article by Dr. Richard Selzer titled What I Saw at the Abortion, (the doctor observed, the man saw). As I kept reading Othering by Charles K. Bellinger I kept wondering had he ever read it. It is not listed in the book’s Bibliography, so it’s

A Product for Our Children?

The photograph in our North Carolina newspaper was above the fold. It showed two well-known college basketball players facing each other, one from Duke and one from UNC, and each was squirting an orange-colored aerosol into his mouth. The small two-ounce canisters holding the oral aerosol were marked with the logo of the North Carolina

Roses and Other Words

Shakespeare, through young Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, offers this view: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet.” Words, those cumbersome things that are our main line of communication with others of our species, have a main meaning and perhaps one or more secondary

117th Congress

 Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania is quoted as saying that he should not recuse himself from any Republican investigation of the committee that just investigated the Insurrection of January 6, 2021.  Perry’s explains that, “Why should I be limited just because someone has made an accusation? Everybody in America is innocent until proven guilty,”  When

Carter the Fox

In Ilkestonb, Derbyshire, England, Jane and Phil Carter looked at their garden and what they filmed has been shared many times. A fox with only two front legs was walking about the garden as it looked for food. The fox appeared in good health and showed no signs of the awful mange from which many

Nothing Is Until It Is

For the past few weeks I have been reading Oswald Chamber’s study of Genesis. Yesterday I read, “The ark stands as a reminder that nothing is until it is,” and “God can only do the impossible,” both comments concerning Genesis 4. At first I was puzzled by his comment concerning the Ark, but comfortable with

This Birthday

For the secular and non-Christ followers in America, Christmas most likely is a season of gifts, a season of colorful lights, a season for a trip to share time with relatives, a season for a tree decorated with trinkets and heirlooms, a season for parties, and more. It seems to this observer that “the season”