Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page
Categories
QuicksearchLinks
Blog Administration |
Thursday, November 13. 2014Experiencing Vietnam
My long-time good friend, Father Paul McNellis S.J., is one of four Vietnam veteran panelists at Boston College (where Paul is now a much loved and respected professor of philosophy) discussing their experiences, what they learned, and how it affected their lives. This 90-minutes is very valuable for all, very informative and touching. Whether you don't know or think you know about Vietnam, watching and listening to this panel will valuably expand your understandings.
Tuesday, November 11. 2014A Poem By Someone Who Isn't A Veteran
Those of us who served are usually those who most observe the meaning and rituals of Veterans Day. The poem below may help those who have not served to understand, and feel.. To the Soldier, To the Veteran The sound of a bullet. These things I know: The sound of your honor. For these things we pray: The sound of your laughter. Your wholeness and your love. © 2011 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved
Monday, November 10. 2014239 Years: The Meaning of Semper Fidelis
Today the United States Marine Corps celebrates its 239th Anniversary. Our motto "Semper Fidelis", otherwise usually spoken as "Semper Fi", Latin for "Always Faithful", neatly sums up what we carry through service and life, what stands Marines apart as the nation's ready, reliable, dedicated warriors, never beaten. This short essay does the motto proud. Friday, October 10. 2014Marijuana Is Not Harmless Or Of Minor ConsequenceMany otherwise prudent people, many of whom may have smoked marijuana decades ago when it was far less potent than now, have gone along with the increased legalization of marijuana. It may be so that for most consumers, who do not abuse it, the harmful effects are minor. However, for many the short and long term effects are not minor. It is ironic that liberal politicians who are so eager to stamp out smoking tobacco and who are so fervent about controlling other things many consume are supporters of marijuana legalization. Their reasons are either that they still do imbibe or that they see another source of taxes they can spend on their other notions. A scholarly analysis of the research since 1993 done into the health effects of marijuana finds:
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
12:21
| Comments (25)
| Trackbacks (0)
Saturday, October 4. 2014Last Minute Yom Kippur ReflectionThrough the Jewish High Holy Days ending with Yom Kippur tonight, we search our souls and behaviors for corrections that will bring a better year. Last night before Kol Nidre, I was chatting with the new, young Assistant Rabbi. I commented that much of life is a test of how we will act and react. The Senior Rabbi’s sermon last night added depth to this. He examined a facet of resilience that is at the core of our teachings, gratitude. We begin our days with a prayer of thanks for experiencing our senses. The Rabbi added that as we face adversities, beyond just faith in our Creator or ourselves there is the strength and refocus from pain provided by gratitude for the blessings of life we have had, have now, or will have. As we always end our prayers tonight at the end of Yom Kippur services, “next year in Jerusalem,” not just literally but figuratively will we be in the land of milk and honey. Wednesday, September 24. 2014Rosh Hashanah and TimeRepost: Rosh Hashanah, which begins tonight, is the first of the intense ten Days Of Awe (or Repentance) that ends with Yom Kippur. Is ten days enough time to make good on our better selves and set a course for a better year and life ahead? For some it may be. For most of us however, it takes many years to set ourselves straight with others and with G-d’s desires for how we should live. It really doesn’t matter as long as you get there. What does matter is the realization that every day that goes by without thinking about it, without in some way working at it, is time lost forever and opportunities lost forever. Shana Tova Umetukah is the traditional greeting at Rosh Hashanah. It means I wish you a sweet and good New Year. It is up to you to make it come true. Wednesday, September 3. 2014Ostrich pose is suicidally stupid"benign neglect unless those morons step on my toes in NYC or anywhere else in the US" is suicidally stupid. Henry Kissinger, on the current events in the Arab Middle East:
Tuesday, September 2. 2014What to do about ISIS: Constructing Strategy, Weighing OptionsMy friend, strategist Mark Safranski, also known as the ZenPundit, offers a masterful review of What To Do About ISIS: Constructing Strategy, Weighing Options, from nothing to full-out annihilation. It really is a must read summary of the paths the US might take, having already allowed the threat to multiply manyfold by the Obama administration's ignoring it although briefed about ISIS for a year. Now for the Obama administration, late to wake up even a little, as Safranski puts it: Attempting to find the strategy with no risks and no hard choices is a policy to engage primarily in ineffectual military gesticulations insufficient to actually change the status quo in Iraq and Syria ( and the eternal default strategy of domestic political consultants and career bureaucrats playing at foreign policy)....
Wednesday, August 27. 2014What journalists get so wrong about Israel
A former reporter and editor in the Jerusalem bureau of the Associated Press writes about what journalists get so wrong. It's all well worth reading: A reporter working in the international press corps here understands quickly that what is important in the Israel-Palestinian story is Israel. If you follow mainstream coverage, you will find nearly no real analysis of Palestinian society or ideologies, profiles of armed Palestinian groups, or investigation of Palestinian government. Palestinians are not taken seriously as agents of their own fate....
Monday, August 11. 2014Rand Paul's Foreign Policy: Obaman Bluster Without SubstanceRand Paul panders to Americans' exhaustion with the failures wrought by half-measures that have marked down US effectiveness and credibility in the world. To do so without a policy of concrete measures that must be taken in the real world is directly akin to the empty pandering of Barack Obama in 2008. Is that the repeat disaster we want, of a continued dangerous downward spiral for the US interests and security.
Sunday, August 10. 2014Obama-Paul Foreign Policy Share A Common ImmoralityThe Obama-Paul paths in foreign policy are immoral in Both Barack Obama and Rand Paul are products of trends in Barack Obama epitomizes those who at a young age adopted the Defense of this mindset requires belief that Vietnam was Rand Paul was raised in this defeatism as spread through the Due to the shortage of US military forces following the The results in encouraged and enlarged hostile terrorists The Obama administration and most of the media are being as The very limited and very late small measures by the Obama Hillary Clinton mouths empty words about being a bit more forceful than Obama. She tries to position Both the Obama and the Paul
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects, Our Essays
at
15:00
| Comments (13)
| Trackback (1)
Monday, April 14. 2014Freeing Our Soul On Passover
As they fled from Egypt, the Hebrews stared at the Red Sea in front of them and the Pharoh’s army closing on their rear. Now, that was a really fearful barrier to aliyah, the act of rising up toward Jerusalem and living one’s soul fully. That border from slavery to freedom caused many to tremble and consider surrendering. We conduct the seder, the traditional prayers and meal by which we celebrate and remember that G-d liberated us, as a central continuation of our bond with G-d and the rediscovery of the relevance of that liberation across the generations. At the same time we can expand on that central group meaning by remembering and celebrating the other yearnings of our soul to live in freedom as an individual. We spend most of our lives in “shoulds” that we were taught or acquired. Most of the shoulds are worthwhile and meaningful. However, many are needless limitations on exploring what lies beyond the borders to which we’ve grown accustomed. They are self-imposed chains on our souls. There is a simple way to know if you are living your soul: do you feel at peace and contentment, pretty much regardless of external stressors? If you do not, you are not living your soul. We each have a unique soul, too often quite smothered under shoulds and only faintly known to us and lived. Passover provides a time to consider what we knew as children, what we feel when in moments of exaltation, what we yearn for, what we can accomplish, how we can be freer. This does not mean being excessive or abandoning responsibilities. It just means living truer to our own nature and to how we wish to be with others in order to have a more meaningful and richer life experience, which also attracts others to do so in their own way. During the seder we point at the matzoh and say, “For the sake of this, G-d did so much for me when I left Egypt.” If any that we know about, Jewish or other, are less than free, we pledge ourselves to bettering their lot. That is our duty, carried over many centuries. Our duty to ourselves is no less important, as the freer each of us is to live our soul in peace and joy, the moreso we can carry that blessing to others. A Messiah may come and bring us all peace. Meanwhile we can make a personal aliyah and rise up to bring ourselves more peace by living our soul -- freeing the better side to feel and constructively channeling the assertive side -- and from that bring more peace and freedom to others by our example and deeds.
Passover Lessons
The celebration of Passover is not only by Jews but by many others of different religions. Passover's message of freedom is universal. A new song-video by the a capella group Maccabeats, done in a Les Miserables way, brings forth another important lesson from Passover. If Moses had not risen to the challenges within himself and from others, his name would have been unknown and Hebrews left in slavery to disappear from history.
There are some scientific critiques of the details of the Exodus in the Jewish Bible. The fine film Life Of Pi brings forth another important lesson, from India, but just as well from Passover. We choose how we remember our lives and travails, and that choice shapes the rest of our lives dramatically. May you all have a good Passover. Monday, February 3. 2014Barry Rubin, my friend, was a MenschMensch is a Yiddish word that means "a person of integrity." A mensch is someone who is responsible, has a high sense of right and wrong and lives that way, and is the sort of person other people look up to. It is one of the very highest compliments that can be said about someone. My friend, US born and raised Barry Rubin, who passed away yesterday, was a mensch. Barry Rubin for decades was a leading scholar on the Middle East, former professor, widely published in major newspaper and blog columns, author of many books, leader of research institutes, and counselor to others around the world. Indeed, on this last point, the extent of his secret and frank communications with people in Moslem countries whose views varied from Barry's is an important indicator of how well respected he was as well as the depth of the well from which he drew his insights. Continue reading "Barry Rubin, my friend, was a Mensch" Monday, December 23. 2013Christmas Lights Over HanoiThis was written by a former POW in Hanoi, Mike Benge. To know more of his astonishing survival, read his POW bio. Every one of our servicemembers must know that we will never forget nor abandon them. The punks in the Obama administration are the only ones who deserve to be abandoned. Their cowardly perfidy will not be forgotten.
Christmas Lights over
Saturday, December 7. 2013GivingOne of the many things missed by many so-called "cosmopolitan sophisticates" (actually self-absorbed reality avoiders) is that the deepest pleasures in life are in giving, not taking, and creating the appreciation for giving in our children. We had a full day scheduled for today, as do most families on weekends. Each year for the past eight or so the boys and I have brought new toys to the breakfast at Camp Pendleton (about a half-hour north of us) paid for by Congressman Issa, whose foundation pays for many such charitable works throughout North County San Diego. We usually go at about 11AM but would need to go at 7:30AM in order to make it to Gavin's basketball game at 11AM. I asked Gavin if he wanted to skip the toy collection breakfast today, so he wouldn't be tired for the game due to the earlier wakeup. Gavin immediately replied, "But, then poor kids will not have as many toys for the Holidays." Out of the mouth of babes (actually a just a month short of 9-years old) comes the core wisdom we take pleasure is seeing in our children. So, arriving early, Congressman Issa marveled at how both boys have grown over the years he has known them.
Then we joined another family with whom we've sat for the past 5-years, whose son Eugene also had a basketball game today, so they arrived early, and for the same reason -- to make sure that kids less fortunate had new toys for Christmas.
Off to basketball, Gavin arrived just as the game began, and his increasing skills were soon evident. (We practice together every chance we get, especially right now on strengthening his dribbling with his non-dominant hand.) (below) -
Continue reading "Giving"
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
23:28
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Monday, December 2. 2013Kid Cruisin' in South BeachWhen I was much younger and lived in the East I went on many barefoot and small luxury sailings all over the Caribbean, primarily to the more diverse and less "Americanized" southern reaches. From San Diego, however, the air connections to the southern Caribbean waste a full day of misery. You can't beat the islands of the south, but it's not worth the arduous flight unless for more than several weeks stay. One of the advantages of having young sons is that they have not seen the southern Caribbean and would not be disappointed by the more touristy Western Caribbean. They are curious and adventurous travelers -- and well behaved, pleasant company -- so, off we went with a direct connection from San Diego to Miami, a day of relaxation there, and then a Carnival ship to Cozumel, Belize, Honduras, and Grand Cayman. Thanksgiving, Chanukah and my birthday made for a very special trip of lasting memories. I haven't been in Miami since I left Florida in 1979. A convenient public bus took us to South Beach from our hotel on a bay. Lincoln Road pedestrian mall has certainly improved with blocks chock full of tropical plantings and ethnic restaurants surrounded by spacioius outdoor seating areas under large umbrellas or canopies. The Santa Monica pedestrian mall is inspired by Lincoln Road but far misses the mark. We lucked in to the very best Cuban food ("YUCA"=Young Urban Cuban Americans) I've had since leaving Florida, and the boys gobbled theirs with many Hmmmmms of delectable delight. A bit further along the walk we came upon a giant Menorah and Dreidal for upcoming Chanukah. We didn't count but took the sign's word that it was made of over 25,000 seashells. The next treat was visiting the historic Art Deco hotels along the South Beach. Before they became trendy, and extremely expensive, my grandmother would come down for the winters in the 1960s and 1970s. The insides are deluxe now but the exteriors are preserved. Lit up at night you feel like you stepped back to the 1930s and 1940s. The boys stood on the spot where I have a photo of me with my grandmother. She would be smiling with nachas.
The famous wide Miami Beach and its high rise hotels of varying ages, from the 1950s to now, are across the street from Grandma's hotel and stretch for miles. Caution: Beefcake photo below.
Continue reading "Kid Cruisin' in South Beach"
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
20:20
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Wednesday, September 4. 2013Shana TovahThe Jewish High Holy Days begin this evening with Rosh Hashanah. One of the traditional Rosh Hashanah greetings is Shana Tovah, which literally means have a good year. The meaning goes deeper. To have a good year is to have sincerely repented one's transgressions and set yourself on a better acting and thinking path. The eve of Rosh Hashanah, and the concluding of Yom Kippur in the evening 10-days later when our fate is sealed by G-d, is a period of especially intense inspection of self and correction of self. It is Jews' most solemn holiday period (read, Holy Days). It is also a time to come together with loved ones as well as to find ways to come together with former adversaries. It is a time to enjoy our customs, especially the blowing of the ram's horn (shofar), especially at Rosh Hashanah, to literally "come awake" to ourselves, our relationships with others and with G-d. And, it is a time to enjoy apples and honey, to symbolize our hopes for a sweet new year. It is a time of long days of prayer. For me, the longer the better, as it is not the words so much that are important as entering a sense of transcendence in which I rise above ordinary thoughts to reach new breakthroughs, understandings, and ways to become better. Like for other Jewish occasions, Rosh Hashanah has become a time for our modern youth to create new music, to bring new verve into our traditional ways. Enjoy this one. (I'm not getting it to embed, so please click through to YouTube.) P.S.: In the video, the tossing of bread into moving waters (tashlich) is to symbolize casting off our sins. Here's a snippet of the verses: "Atonement's what I'm after; It's a new year, now we gotta do something" The Jewish High Holy Days, and the Hebrew month of Elul's introspection preceding them, require of each of us to "do something", at the very least, to create a better self and world. Our custom has been adapted into Christianity with Lent, and into Islam with Ramadan. May we all earnestly work to be better. We all need to and we all need it. Friday, August 30. 2013The "Golden Voice of Africa" tells off BDSersSalif Keita is "an afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the "Golden Voice of Africa" but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita." He was scheduled to appear at a charity fundraiser in Israel for albinos. Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) zealots tormented and threatened him, which is their common tactic to get artists not to appear in Israel. The "Golden Voice of Africa" used his voice, via his albino foundation, to tell off the BDSers. This is what he experienced: August 22, 2013
While elsewhere in Africa, at a South African university, members of the BDS there "sing, “dubula e juda” (“shoot the Jew”) as concert attendees to hear an Israeli saxophonist were entering the music hall, according to a newspaper affiliated with the university. That's their lie and they're sticking to it!
Sunday, June 30. 2013What could have beens in VietnamIf, coulda, woulda, shoulda about history may not change it but does change our understanding of what happened and why. The two gravest mistakes the US made in Vietnam were to participate in, even bless, the overthrow of President Diem and then to not use our overwhelming force to bring North Vietnam to its knees. The overthrow of Diem in 1963 upended the South Vietnamese pacification efforts and disrupted the organization of the professional army, requiring the large-scale US involvement. The failure to then use our massive force, especially in the air on North Vietnamese strategic targets instead of sending multi-million dollar planes against cheap trucks, allowed the North to extend its reach and prolong the war. Mark Moyars wrote the book "Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965." It details how Diem's efforts were succeeding and were destroyed by the coup. In the June 29 Wall Street Journal (behind the paywall) Moyar reviews three other recent books that come to the same conclusion. Wise guys in Washington should not be in such a hurry to think they can superimpose their ideal of Western democracy where the foundations have not been laid and in the midst of war requiring unified stern measures. Of historical note is, not only in 1964-5 the failure to bring to bear the Joint Chiefs' recommendations for strategic targeting of the North, but how in 1970 there was a similar failure of will in Washington. As President Nixon showed in 1972 by launching such a ferocious air attack on Hanoi and Haiphong, the war could have been shortened and many thousands of lives saved. Rear Admiral Joe Vasey was right hand man to Admiral John McCain Jr, Commander-In-Chief Pacific Command during 1968-1972. In an exclusive to this blog, for historical record, Joe Vasey has agreed to publish the below "after inaction" report on what could have been in 1970. (My apologies for the spacing below, due to copying-pasting from an email.) Continue reading "What could have beens in Vietnam" Thursday, June 13. 2013“Did you kill any babies, Bruce?”“Did you kill any babies, Bruce?” As we lay in bed on New Year’s Eve 1970, this is what the girl asked who a friend had introduced me to when I returned from Vietnam a couple of months before. I got up and drove home in the snowy streets from Queens to Brooklyn. I didn’t even try to date another girl for almost a year after. But, I moved past it and didn’t dwell on that night. Some returned soldiers and Marines had worse experiences and some had better and almost all just blended back in after an initial adjustment. Studies show that most were more successful in their lives than their non-serving peers. But, what the major media and liberal opinion-setters painted was an image, usually grossly ignorant and mendacious, of a mentally and morally scarred Vietnam veteran. The purpose was to reduce support for the US commitment to South Vietnam. It took several decades before this image from the Left was reversed and due pride in veterans’ service returned to America. Yet, that erroneous and harmful image of Vietnam veterans still lingers in many minds. Aside from the opprobrium poured upon us Vietnam veterans from the Left in the pop culture and academia, the goal of our war was lost and we had little reason to exhibit pride in the outcome of our service as millions of IndoChinese were murdered by the conquering communists in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The perfidy of so many of our Senators and Congressmen, and the indifference of most opinion-leaders, only deepened the alienation from authority, and increased the vulnerability to the anti-Vietnam messagers. That’s what the fall of Saigon has to do with the life paths of Vietnam veterans. Rarely do two books appear on widely different aspects of the Vietnam War which based on meticulous research weave an understanding of the still confusing Vietnam War that, as Paul Harvey used to say, tells us “the rest of the story.” Continue reading "“Did you kill any babies, Bruce?”"
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
10:56
| Comments (17)
| Trackbacks (0)
Monday, June 3. 2013Marine: What if we all acted like this?Recently, a young boy who admired the Marine Corps lay at death's door. Notified by his father, a group of Marines came to honor him. One of the Marines went further and stood guard at his room until the boy died. Here's the story (verified by Snopes), and the Marine's wish for all of us. It's a short video, so please watch. Marine opens up about Cody Green: wlfi.com
Thursday, April 25. 2013Jason's Bar Mitzvah Trip To IsraelIt was a tiring, three-plane, 24-hour flight, getting in late the night before, April 7. We stayed at a delightfully friendly inn near the Prime Minister's residence, about a 15-minute stroll to the Old City. We slept and had a hearty breakfast from the inn's large, delicious buffet. After 2-minutes of sirens all over Israel during which all stop to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jason's Bar Mitzvah took place at 10:02AM on April 8 at the Haas Promenade overlooking all of Jerusalem, the Old City at the center of view. Here we're carrying the Torah to the Promenade, then part of the view over Jerusalem (hazy due to a sand storm in Saudi Arabia blowing sand far into Jerusalem's skies).
Instead of a long post with deeper observations, maybe to come later, instead this post will simply present some of the joy on Jason and younger brother (8) Gavin's faces at their experiences. (Jason was totally jazzed, and performed his prayers and Torah portion with enthusiasm and ease. Gavin was a bit jet-lagged in the morning of the 8th but recovered his boisterous energy and spirits by noon.) A few photos with me may sneak in. But. for me, these of Jason and Gavin are the most important. Look back at your albums. The photos of sites are nice momentos but the photos of your children at the sites are the heart that beats and stirs. Both boys rose to be champion travelers, terrifically behaved and engaged, and their reflections on what they saw and experienced have been all that a father could hope for from this exposure to the land, history, and traditions of our Jewish religion and peoples. Jason acts and takes seriously that he is now a young man, with such responsibilities following this core rite of passage. Gavin says he will be nicer after experiencing and discussing the centrality in our faith of replacing bad with good in ourselves and the world, bolstered by meeting so many pleasant Israelis and visitors from all over the globe. (Many more photos below the fold; There is a 10-hour difference between California and Israel, so the dates on the photos reflect San Diego time, not Israel's) Continue reading "Jason's Bar Mitzvah Trip To Israel"
Posted by Bruce Kesler
in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
10:58
| Comments (11)
| Trackbacks (0)
Saturday, January 19. 2013Saturday Subbing LinksLaw Banning Genetic Discrimination Doesn't Apply To Some Insurers The simple pull-up rises in exercise popularity 65% See Gun Rights As Protection Against Tyranny Obama's Kids: Stooping to New Presidential Lows Banks Seek U.S. Help on Iran Cyberattacks Hamas’ military wing won’t disarm as part of unity deal The message Hagel carries on Iran The Archaeological Archive of Israel is Scanned and Going Online (mostly English) Don't Ignore This Emerged Market What a surprise (not)! Journal News map listed guns, permits stolen from New City home, cops say Obama bypasses Congress, attempts to force companies to reveal political donations through SEC Individual And Group Coverage Under The ACA: More Patches To The Federal-State Crazy Quilt Court ruling in Prop. 30 case limits use of 'spot bills' in budget: "The opinion does not affect the passage of Proposition 30 but could limit the Legislature's future use of so-called "spot bills," placeholder bills included in budget packages and passed as urgency measures only after they are filled with language later. Such budget-related bills are useful to lawmakers because they require only a majority vote and take effect immediately." Actor Danny Glover tells students 2nd Amendment was created to protect slavery Federal Appeals Court upholds Wisconsin union law Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/01/court-ruling-in-prop-30-case-limits-use-of-spot-bills-in-budget.html#storylink=cpy
« previous page
(Page 9 of 49, totaling 1224 entries)
» next page
|