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Years ago I had the pleasure of studying with a very wise rabbi (H.C. Brichto, z”l). Of his many quotes I can remember, this seems to be the most fitting for what underlies recent events in America: “Most people live as though their lives are determined, but it’s the other guy who has free will.”Continue reading “America’s Cult(ure) of Anger and Blame”

Oh the pixels and ink that will be consumed over the coming days at the demise of the King Rat presidency. Like so many people across the globe, this writer is amazed at how many Republican legislators are expressing surprise and dismay at how Trump’s…excuse me, King Rat’s presidency is coming to a close. Why?Continue reading “Rats leaving a sinking RAT”

At the beginning of the film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, the Sundance Kid is playing poker with a man who accuses him of cheating. They are about to settle it with guns when Butch leans over and whispers a ‘warning’ to Sundance, but deliberately using his moniker. The gambler is noticeably disturbed andContinue reading “Of Butch Cassidy and Covid Sceptics”

In 1931 Alphonse Gabriel Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison. Gang leader, murderer, bootlegger and more, Capone could only be safely convicted for tax evasion. At this point in time I wonder whether the American public of 1931 would have tolerated such a man as president. Given the fact that heContinue reading “The Al Capone Presidency?”

It has been a lovely, chilly Christmas day in our part of France. We’ve spoken to our sons and families; and we’ve enjoyed a delicious meal. As I watched the sun set over our little hamlet (left), my mind drifted back to Christmases past. Many of us look back as we approach the end ofContinue reading “A Short Christmas/New Year Thought”

I am far from the first person to espouse this belief and I certainly won’t be the last. Time and history will be the adjudicators. Trump, in his own right, is a buffoon; a pudgy, white doughboy. He is nothing without his followers. Trump is also mentally ill, as many psychiatrists and psychologists have writtenContinue reading “Why Trumpists Are more Dangerous than Trump”

For those who are my friends on Facebook, you will have seen my musings last night as I sat in the waiting area as my wife’s hand was stitched up from a kitchen accident. Having lived most of my adult life in England, which has a national health service, it is so good to beContinue reading “Mind Control?”

For those of us who have experienced real evil in this life, the subject of today’s musings makes perfect sense. For others, perhaps it’s confusing–and so I shall explain. Many years ago I was watching a programme on television with a Quaker friend (no pun intended). The programme concerned the Holocaust. I remember turning toContinue reading “Evil’s Beauty”

As a biblical scholar and ordained minister, I have long been puzzled, and even angered, by the American ‘christians’ abuse of the term ‘evangelical.’ Etymologically, it’s simply wrong. Having studied biblical languages and the languages of surrounding cultures of the period in which the scriptures were written, I have the background and knowledge to backContinue reading “Evangelical–a Much Abused Term”

About two months ago I posted some thoughts on the above topic on Facebook. Now I would like to expand on them. First, who, you might ask, was Reinhard Heydrich? Heydrich was the poster boy for the Nazi party: Aryan looks, superb violinist, athletic, smart and charming. How did a bright intellectual like him fallContinue reading “Tea with Reinhard Heydrich?”