Archive For The “Odds & Ends” Category
You can easily imagine Barker Ajax as a ranch hand, but a farmer? Well, it’s possible. Might’ve been in the early 1990s, the old west of the past century. Turns out he was hired primarily to keep felonious pests and inquisitive varmints away from the cash crop. Wrangle dogs and corral various critters. This he…
We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding: We are going to begin to act, beginning today. The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away…
Slavery is no scholar, no improver; it does not love the whistle of the railroad; it does not love the newspaper, the mail-bag, a college, a book or a preacher who has the absurd whim of saying what he thinks; it does not increase the white population; it does not improve the soil; everything goes…
“For those who are uncomfortable with firearms or who are too young for them or who just want a ‘silent’ option to take down prey or use as a self-defense weapon in a pinch, a blowgun may prove to be an acceptable compromise.“ The old man was confident Florida was not fit for human habitation….
True peace rests on the pillars of individual freedom, human rights, national self-determination, and respect for the rule of law. – Ronald Reagan (Republican) If Jon Stewart & Stephen King collaborated… ‘This is the Final Battle’ Republicans, as you’d imagine, are taking the news very well. As is often the case these days, GOP reactions…
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. – Elie Wiesel White Mob in Oklahoma Abducts and Lynches Laura Nelson and Her Young Son On May 24, 1911, shortly…
This piece is dedicated to Joe Henderson, the legendary running writer and editor. The guy who made Dr. George Sheehan sound coherent. Joe once told me – we became friends because I wanted to be just like him, only taller and faster – ‘you can reuse a piece every four years because your readership will…
If Southern white men are not careful, they will overreach themselves and public sentiment will have a reaction; a conclusion will then be reached which will be very damaging to the moral reputation of their women. – Ida B. Wells-Barnett, The Red Record I saw a headline. Nine Black Teens Falsely Accused of Rape in Alabama And…
If not for you, winter wouldn’t hold no spring, couldn’t hear a robin sing. I just wouldn’t have a clue, if not for you. – Bob Dylan Got a note from Jay Birmingham. “I read something on your site that spurred me to compose.” Take that as a great compliment. So, here it is. Robin-Song…
Here’s to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one A pretty girl and an honest one A cold beer— and another one! It is better to spend money like there’s no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there’s no money! May you die in bed at ninety-five years,…