Month: August 2017

War On Peace In Piedmont Park

“I don’t know who would learn history from monuments.  We have history books for that!“

People in general don’t read.  This is nothing new; literacy has traditionally only ever been for the elite, not the general masses that make up the work force.  Very few have ever learned anything from dry histories anyway.  History books and facts as names and numbers and dates — that’s why we fell asleep in class.

But spend a day with me at Gettysburg and I can show you what it meant to fight there. I can take you to the spot where the future was created, tell you the tale of the lost shoes, show you where Reynolds fell and why it mattered, where the 20th Maine made their stand and how, and let you see the terrible beauty of Pickett’s Charge. (more…)

The Honored Dead

For a long time, there’s been a great deal of controversy about the effect of a legal fiction used during the Civil War.  To this day, the U.S. Armed Forces maintain this position, and a lot of folks don’t much care for that fact.  Let me simplify it a little and lay it out for you, and you can judge for yourselves. (more…)

Confederate Monuments

In Easton, Pennsylvania stands a massive monument to the fallen soldiers of the Civil War.  There’s a central column seventy-five feet high surmounted by a statue of a bugler.  Around the base are granite statues, plaques, plinths, and a fountained moat.  It is massive, ugly, surprisingly tasteless, and dedicated to the honored dead.

And nobody is agitating to have it pulled down.

From Baltimore to Texas, all across the South, monuments to the soldiers (more…)

Media Bias: An Unbiased Guide

All news media is biased, including me.  And that’s the way it ought to be.  It’s the manner and degree of bias in the modern mass media that’s so very unfortunate.

According to recent polling by Gallup (itself possibly subject to statistical bias), only about a third of Americans trust the news to tell them the truth.  It’s that lack of confidence, (more…)

There Is No Opioid Epidemic, Dammit!

Heroin and its analogues can be deadly.  Heroin overdoses have more than tripled over the past couple of decades.  The supply has ballooned; the price has plummeted.  And, since 2013, dangerous synthetics have hit the streets in truly vast quantities.  These are facts, beyond dispute.

Despite this, it has become apparent to me that there is in fact no such thing as an “Opioid Epidemic”.  Despite massive reporting and editorializing on the subject, hearings in Congress, and now even a potential military deployment (more…)

Blowing Trump’s Horn

No hooker jokes, folks:  Apparently, President Trump has gotten sick of blowing his own horn and instead has hired a professional.

You might remember Kayleigh McEnany from the heady days of the campaign.  She’s the CNN commentator who endorsed Trump waaay back when, and upon whom they regularly called to defend his positions.  She’s now working directly for Trump (more…)

Texas Jack’s Barbecue, Arlington VA

I know what you’re thinking:  Barbecue — in Arlington?!  Well, it just goes to show:  You shouldn’t judge based on your preconceptions.  That’s right:  Texas Jack’s does good ‘Cue.

If you don’t know where Arlington is, “Pentagon” and “Blast Radius” may remind you.  In the shadow of our nation’s capitol, this mega-suburb was originally part of the District until Virginia took it back after decades of of mismanagement and neglect.  It’s a hodgepodge of skyscrapers, hotels, million-dollar postage-stamp houses, Reagan National Airport, and more Starbucks per square mile (more…)