On this day, 1009 years ago, November 30 1016, Cnut of Denmark (his name was anglicized to "Canute" somewhere along the way) claimed the throne of all of England following the death of King Edmund, known as "Ironside" for his valiant resistance against the Danes. Canute was 22 at the time, and a couple of… Continue reading Celebrating King Canute!
Category: Truth
Resolved: Lifelong Confusion Over Ginger Fredericks
Around the beginning of the second decade of my life (for those of you in Rio Linda, that means I was eleven or so), I was told the story by Bronwyn Davies, my gifted English boarding school history teacher (The Abbey School, Malvern Wells), of “Emperor Frederick,” who–legend has it–had a nameless beggar entombed while… Continue reading Resolved: Lifelong Confusion Over Ginger Fredericks
47 Years Ago Today, in Jonestown, Guyana….
What's becoming an annual tradition here, on November 18, not long before Thanksgiving in these United States. We all have our life-markers. This is one of mine. ...on November 18, 1978, I was sitting in the little snack bar in the base station of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington (a short mountain, comparatively speaking, but one… Continue reading 47 Years Ago Today, in Jonestown, Guyana….
Just Correcting the Record, on the So-Called US Government Shutdown…
Because, for some unfortunate reason, it seems sadly necessary. The Republican-majority United States House of Representatives passed a bill on September 19, 2025, to continue previously-voted-upon business as usual while negotiations about future budget changes went forward. That bill subsequently went to the Senate, where it failed to pass because it didn't get 60 votes… Continue reading Just Correcting the Record, on the So-Called US Government Shutdown…
Newsflash for Meandering or Ambivalent Gentiles: Yammering at Inordinate Length about Israel Doesn’t Usually End Well for You
I can take it from the Commentary podcast people, because they're unabashed Jews. That's who they are. That's what they do. And I listen to them almost every day because--in spite of their acknowledged bias--they often have really interesting things to say. I can take it from Dan Senor, because his podcast is incredibly even-handed… Continue reading Newsflash for Meandering or Ambivalent Gentiles: Yammering at Inordinate Length about Israel Doesn’t Usually End Well for You
Architectural Originalism
I am amused by the meltdown among the Left and the legacy media (but I repeat myself) over the demolition of the White House East Wing, a building which–as far as I can see–had no particular historical or aesthetic merit, and seems to have consisted of cramped offices, the entrance and exit points for White… Continue reading Architectural Originalism
The Left-Wing Attempt to Infantilize Usha Vance
Former White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki is taking some heat for her recent remarks about the wife of the current Vice President of the United States. In a conversation with two other equally unpleasant-seeming women whom I might describe–on looks alone–as “two peas in a podcast” (full disclosure: I have no idea who either… Continue reading The Left-Wing Attempt to Infantilize Usha Vance
Forty-Two Years Ago Today, in Beirut Lebanon
Two trucks loaded with bombs detonated, killing a total of 307 people, 241 of whom were American military personnel, dozens of whom were French military, and a few of whom were civilians and (not important) a couple of the attackers. I'm not sure we've ever dealt with it, or even come to terms with it,… Continue reading Forty-Two Years Ago Today, in Beirut Lebanon
No Kings? Grow Up Already!
Really, righteous people. If what you want to do is endanger yourselves (you keep on saying that you feel endangered, because--what else--Trump!) by bravely stepping up to the line and perhaps even crossing it, I should have thought by now you'd have noticed that you've felt no consequences--ever--for doing so. Just like Meryl Streep at… Continue reading No Kings? Grow Up Already!
On Cotton Bolls and Dancing Queens
Honestly, there are days when the tsunami of news is so overwhelming that I can’t but do other than reflect on the words of the late Mr. Right's Aunt Sophie, who served as a real-life Rosie the Riveter in one of Pittsburgh’s munitions factories during World War II, and who was well known in the… Continue reading On Cotton Bolls and Dancing Queens