My other grandfather, Anthony Wayne Webner, was born on March 31. Oddly, one of my grandfathers was born on March 1 and the other on March 31. I am embarrassed to admit that I don’t know nearly as much about Grampa Webner as I should, probably because he died of lung cancer when I was [...]
Archive for March, 2009
Anthony Wayne Webner
Posted in Family, tagged Family on March 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A Disturbing Reminder
Posted in Growing Up, Politics, tagged assassination, Bobby Kennedy, George Wallace, Growing Up, Harvey Milk, Martin Luther King, President Bush, President Ford, President Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Work on March 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I saw on the RealClearPolitics website that today is the 28th anniversary of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. It sent a shiver down my spine and brought back some weird memories. President Reagan was shot during the first week I was on the job as the press secretary and legislative aide for Congressman Chalmers [...]
Jobs Well Done
Posted in Reflections, Work, tagged Work on March 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I like doing little chores around the house — things like loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher, or picking up debris that has blown into our yard, or folding the laundry and putting it away. Yesterday morning, for example, I shined my shoes. I find this kind of work both mentally relaxing and rewarding. You [...]
Uncharted Territory
Posted in Politics, tagged Budget Deficit, Congress, President Obama, stimulus on March 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Projected Deficit SOURCE: CBO, White House Office of Management and Budget | The Washington Post – March 21, 2009 This graph, taken from the Washington Post website and based on CBO and OMB data, tells several interesting stories. One is the impact of 9/11 and the recession and military spending that followed on the federal [...]
Dulce Pinzon
Posted in Art, World, tagged Art, Dulce Pinzon, World on March 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
These are an interesting series of pictures from Mexican photographer Dulce Pinzon. It shows immigrant workers in the US dressed in costumes of super heroes. I just thought they were really great — kind of an expose of who the real superheroes are in our modern world? Then again, Pinzon decides to include how much [...]
The View
Posted in Politics, TV, tagged News media, President Obama, The View, TV on March 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
One morning
A Break-Even Buck-Back
Posted in sports, Work, tagged Gambling, sports, Work on March 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Well, I’m out of the Buck Back. This year, I drafted last, which means the first-round pickings are slim. After the first two days of the tournament, however, I looked very strong. Each of my first six draft choices had won their first game. Unfortunately, those six teams won only two more games, and with [...]
TMI, 30 Years Later
Posted in College, Environment, Science, The Economy, TV, tagged College, economy, Environmental, nuclear power, Science, TV on March 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Thirty years ago the nuclear incident at Three Mile Island, in Pennsylvania, hit the news. I was a college student at the time, and I recall that the stories about the incident had a very panicked, sci-fi quality to them. The nuclear core could reach extraordinarily high temperatures and melt down, burning through the concrete [...]
In the Neighborhood
Posted in Politics, World, tagged foreign policy, Mexico, Politics, World on March 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The problems in Mexico, with thousands of people being killed in horrific drug-related gang violence, much of which is occurring in towns bordering the United States, is a real concern. Such violence could easily spill over into the U.S., or cause more Mexicans to come illegally into the U.S., or both. For many years, I [...]
What Is A Gouache?
Posted in Art, Family, tagged Art, Family on March 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I really like Russell’s artwork (as anyone who visits my office can attest). His most recent stuff also is to my taste. I don’t know what a gouache is, but I do know that I like the look.
Why Newspapers Are Dying . . . .
Posted in Reflections, World, tagged Military, newspapers, World on March 27, 2009 | 1 Comment »
This article — http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/03/baghdad-in-frag.php – is a good example of why large, daily newspapers face an almost impossible task. Michael Totten has been doing very good traditional reporting — that is, observing something newsworthy and then writing a story where the reader feels like they are almost hard-wired with the reporter’s eyes and ears and [...]
Drunken Sailors
Posted in Politics, tagged Budget Deficit, Congress, Politics, President Obama on March 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I like the phrase “spend like a drunken sailor” because it conjures a powerful mental image of the inebriated swabbie, staggering through a red-light district, recklessly blowing his money on wine, women, and song during shore leave. These days, if you are someone like me who believes that the government should not spend like a [...]
The World Is Changing
Posted in Politics, tagged News media, newspapers, Politics on March 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This story — http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/daniel_hannan/blog/2009/03/25/my_speech_to_gordon_brown_goes_viral – aptly demonstrates how the world is changing. With the splintering of the establishment media, the demise of newspapers, and the growth of alternative media like YouTube, it is getting harder and harder for politicians to retain control of a “story.” This is a good thing in some ways, and a [...]
Bad Religion
Posted in Family, Reflections, tagged Family, religion on March 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Religious people clearly take great comfort in their faith. They are certain that their beliefs are the way to salvation and a better life, here and in the hereafter. Because their beliefs are such an integral part of their lives, they often can’t understand why non-religious people don’t (and won’t) accept those beliefs. Recently a [...]
Bratty Kid
Posted in Family, Travel on March 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday we returned home from our trip and witnessed a little family drama. We boarded our plane from Freeport to Charlotte and sat in the last row, next to the toilets. (What great seats those are!) As we were sitting in our seats, we watched a family that included a mother, father, and two kids [...]
