Because

We know what works. Freedom Works. We know what’s right. Freedom is right.

American lieutenant, politician, and 41st President of the United States,
George H.W. Bush, was born on this day in 1924. Died 2018.

I lived in DC during the Presidency of George H.W. Bush. With my job for a national association of state legislators, I frequently scheduled meetings where leadership, including the President, were in attendance. It was at one such meeting in 1991, when I scheduled a briefing for 150 legislators at the White House in the days following the end of the first Gulf War, then President Bush proclaimed:

“It’s a proud day for America. And, by God, we’ve kicked the Vietnam syndrome once and for all.” The term “Vietnam syndrome.”

A moment I will never forget.

I didn’t post yesterday. I wrote a post, but I didn’t like it. Sure, sometimes I’ll share a crappy post. I just couldn’t get this one to say what I wanted it to say. I’m not sure it said anything. It was a bit of a fluff piece.

Again today, I have no grand words of wisdom. I’d rather take a look at a little history we shouldn’t forget.

On this day in 1942, Anne Frank received a diary for her thirteenth birthday. A little more than a month before her family went into hiding. Two years later, they would be arrested. Anne, and her sister Margot, would be sent to Auschwitz, then transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where they died, presumably from typhus, barely three months before the end of the war.

Because she was Jewish.

Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.
Anne Frank

On this day in 1943, around 1,180 Jews were led to the old city graveyard in Brze?any, Poland and shot following the German liquidation of the Jewish Ghetto.

Because they were Jewish.

This week an African American man stood on the streets of New York and shouted that he wished Hitler had lived to that he could have eradicated all of the Jews.

Are we paying attention?

On this day in 1976, the United States Supreme Court declared all U.S. state laws prohibiting interracial marriage to be unconstitutional in their Loving v. Virginia decision.

Because they loved each other.

On this day in 2014, between 1,085 and 1,700 Shia Iraqi people were killed in an attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on Camp Speicher in Tikrit Iraq, making it the second deadliest attack of terrorism in history, after 9/11.

Because they were hated.

On this day in 2016 Omar Matten killed 49 civilians and injured 58 others in a gay nightclub in Orlando before being killed by police.

Because they loved differently.

I’m not posting this to be depressing. But, when (or if) you consider the news of the day, remember your history.

My faith tells me that things will get a lot rougher before the end of time. I don’t know that we’re there yet, but I can imagine the trumpeters polishing their horns.

I don’t like to write about politics and news. I used to all the time and I grew weary of defending the indefensible. But sometimes you have to go beyond that discomfort and talk about it anyway.

Draw your own conclusions.

But you can’t create your own facts or history.

Am Yisrael Chai.

IN OTHER NEWS

Hunter Biden found guilty on all 3 counts in federal gun trial
6News Richmond
Biden was charged with lying on a federal gun purchase form in 2018 about his drug use. He faces up to 25 years in prison sentence if convicted.

Full-Time Jobs Vanish While Americans Race To Take Up Part-Time Work
Daily Caller
Americans took up part-time jobs in huge numbers in May as full-time jobs evaporate under President Joe Biden’s economy, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released Friday.

Four Hostages Rescued in Gaza. An Estimated 120 Remain.
Kerry Dougherty
When you rape, kill and burn about 1,200 people and take 240 hostages you don’t get to choose how the enemy retaliates.

Biden Asks Why Europe Didn’t Just Arrest Conservative Candidates Before Election
The Babylon Bee
As conservative candidates in multiple countries won by significant margins, the current American leader expressed surprise that the ruling globalist regimes didn’t simply have their chief political rivals imprisoned.

American actor and singer, Jim Nabors, was born on this day in 1930 (died 2017).


 

 

Available on Amazon.

Summertime…well, almost…

It was a pleasant early summer/late spring weekend.

A little pool, a little theatre, a little sitting on the veranda reading scripts and drinking juleps.

And a pedicure.

Yes. A pedicure. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

But perhaps a little less  than necessary writing inspiration. Don’t get me wrong, I did several creative things. I have a “new” way of journaling/collaging that I’m really starting to like. Even if I’m not good at it. And no, I’m not showing you.

That all means that you get a few Random Monday Thoughts. Maybe more than you bargained for.

Which, if it is, might mean it’s time you asked yourself why you were bargaining over anything that I might write.

You can’t take hostages from their beds, keep them kidnapped for eight months and then complain about the hostage-rescue operation. (borrowed from Twitter/X).

And you’re not an innocent civilian when you’re holding hostages captive in your basement.

That’s all I’m going to say about that for now.

Well, that and, with a population of over 300 million, these three yahoos are the best we can do?

I have twelve (12) Mondays left to work. I’ll probably hate all of them.

My wife and I are making tentative plans for a road trip. Maybe next year. Maybe the year after. But we keep adding stops. Right now we should be back in 2028. We’ll need someone to feed the cat…once or twice.

It’s a summer of change for me, well, sort of. I’m winding down the days at the day job. Yes, I’m counting. I’m sorting out what I’ll be doing after September 1st.

Feel free to visit the tip jar and give me a few more days to think about it. Or not.

I’m looking forward to a busy time post retirement. Mainly with theater and travel.

And no, I’m not talking about it yet.

I’m going to have a pretty awesome 24-25 theater season. You’ll just have to wait and see.

Those are just the things that are certain. There are several more possibilities in the wings.

Wings. Get it?

I digress.

We’re in June. The pools are open. The grass is growing. People are heading to the beach, or to the mountains.

It could be a lazy summer.

I could be a lazy blogger.

Pass the watermelon.

IN OTHER NEWS

Gaza journalist who wrote for Al Jazeera was holding 3 hostages in home with family, Israel says
The New York Post
A Gaza journalist who wrote for Al Jazeera was holding three hostages in his home with his family before he was killed by Israeli commandos during a rescue operation on Saturday, according to the Israeli military.

Yes, the destruction of Star Wars was intentional. Here’s why they did it.
Joel Berry
That’s why I say the destruction of our cherished myths is intentional – perhaps not within the halls of Disney, but at the cosmic scale. It’s not just happening to Star Wars, but to Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and almost every other beloved tale from the storytellers of the Christian West.

In Response To Trump Conviction, Republicans Threaten To Fire Off ‘Strongliest Worded Letter Of All Time’
The Babylon Bee
According to political analysts, the ultimatum is a serious escalation of an already shaky political situation and comes after several Strongly Worded Letters and even a few Stronglier Worded Letters.

 

Available on Amazon.