Introducing…

Missouri's first State Poet Laureate.  Walter Bargen. I can't tell you how pleased I am by this.  Walter is a first-rate poet and, just if not more importantly, a decent human being. He will be formally introduced on February 13th at the state capitol.  After that, he will serve a…

Continue ReadingIntroducing…

Incident On A Parking Lot

Personal anecdote time. Yesterday (Sunday) we went shopping.  We stopped at Office Depot to buy a new chair.  As we approached the entrance, I spotted a friend of ours and called her name.  We gathered outside the entrance to chat. As we talked, a man approached us, begged our pardon,…

Continue ReadingIncident On A Parking Lot

Hope’s Glimmer Dies Again

Bhutto is dead. One tries to be understanding, patient, tries to embrace the tolerance so thoroughly rejected by those who condemn out of hand, with no chance for counterargument, the possibility of dialogue.  Comes a point where one has to simply acknowledge that some people, in some places, just don't…

Continue ReadingHope’s Glimmer Dies Again

Romney’s Testament

Mitt Romney has made it clear that he intends to serve the law first, his religion second. That he feels he ought not to have to justify his religious beliefs in order to run for president of the United States. The parallels to John F. Kennedy’s Houston speech are dripping…

Continue ReadingRomney’s Testament

Manger Arbitration

It's that time of year again, when we gear up for the rewards (or disappointments) promised in our celebrations of the Yule Season. Christmas Time! Days of saccharine movies, maudlin songs, a hope for fluffy white snowfall that is somehow miraculously easy to drive through and falls only on grassy…

Continue ReadingManger Arbitration