In Memory of Jimmy Carter: The Last Truly Moral President
“[President Jimmy Carter] told his National Security Adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, that he ‘would be willing to lose the presidency for the sake of genuine peace in the Middle East.’” Eric Alterman[1] As of this writing, 98-year-old former President Jimmy Carter is in hospice at his home is Plaines, Georgia. Of all the recent […]
The Road Well-Travelled: From Woodstock to Asbury
The Road Well-Travelled: From Woodstock to Asbury “Well, I came upon a child of God He was walking along the road And I asked him, ‘Tell me, where are you going?’ And this he told me. Said, ‘I’m going down to Yasgur’s Farm Gonna join in a rock […]
ChatGPT: Revisiting the AI Issue
ChatGPT: Revisiting the AI Issue “In one of his lectures, [Joseph] Weizenbaum pointed out that we are incessantly striking Faustian bargains with this [AI] technology. In such contracts, both sides get something: the devil gets the human soul; humans get the services that delight us. Sometimes, the trade-off works for us, but with this […]
Inside the German mind – tank wars
INSIDE THE GERMAN MIND: TANK WARS “Russia is a nuclear power, and sending more weapons will contribute to a dangerous escalation of the war, with the outcome uncertain … That’s why I’m so scared, and so many others in Germany are too. If Germany sends combat tanks to Ukraine, Germany could become a target. […]
God’s Blast from the past: Promise Keepers
GOD’S BLAST FROM THE PAST: PROMISE KEEPERS “Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17 “Our generation put a man on the moon; this generation has put a man in the girl’s bathroom.” Mario Murrillo A week ago today, I was walking through the […]
Inside the Russian mind: the concept of KATECHON
INSIDE THE RUSSIAN MIND: THE CONCEPT OF KATECHON “Perhaps Russia’s extraordinary geography played a part, or the unique historical role of Russian Orthodox Christianity in Russian state-formation, but Russian thought has lent itself to the idea of Russians being a chosen people, with a special historical role, not only in relation to the Russian nation, […]
Ode to William (“Bill”) Phillips
ODE TO WILLIAM (“BILL”) PHILLIPS “… I will never have it that God created any man, especially any Christian man, to be a blank, and to be a nothing. He made you for an end. Find out what that end is; find out your own niche and fill it. If it be ever so […]
2023: A year of God’s Goodness
2023: A YEAR OF GOD’S GOODNESS “Goodness consists not in the outward things we do, but in the inward thing we are.” E.H. Chapins My original intent was that my first missive of 2023 would be a blistering review of things going wrong in our world on so many fronts. To this end, […]
2022: Christmas missive
2022: CHRISTMAS MISSIVE “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, Alles schlaeft, einsam wacht … Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright …” “ … the mist was slow to clear and suddenly my orderly threw himself into my dugout to say that both the German and Scottish soldiers had come out of their […]
Sandpiper’s Ode
SANDPIPER’S ODE “All my life I have lived and behaved very much like the sandpiper just running down the edges of different countries and continents, looking for something—” Elizabeth Bishop Last week I was walking on the beach and thinking of several people in my life—in particular, a former student and now CEO—and […]