As Damon Runyon liked to say (quoting Hugh Keough): “The race isn’t always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.” Looking back 247 years, how would odds-makers have called it, what kind of odds would they have given the gang in Philadelphia? Before answering that, consider the […]

Author’s Note: I have been pestered by my Muse … it won’t win any prizes but there it is! – Arrias To Our Founding Fathers What were they thinking, Why would they even dare, Fight the British empire? They didn’t have a prayer. The British had thousands of troops, The Colonies really had none, Just […]

So green is the grass, in a hundred shades, Green too are the trees, The morning sun plays gently on the leaves, And some turn golden by degrees. A woodpecker begins his daily labors, Hammering rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat, And the squirrels descend warily from nests, As if poised for combat. The songbirds begin their daily choral, […]

Author’s Note: I suspect a lot of people won’t agree with this… On January 12th, 1950 Dean Acheson, Truman’s Secretary of State, gave a speech at the National Press Club, the subject being “Crisis in China – An examination of United States Policy.” In that speech, as you may recall, Acheson made the following statement: […]

Author’s Note: My Muse was impressed… Radial Song An engine quickly comes to life, A lovely rumble, grumble, grumble, A puff of smoke, another bang, Grumble, Grumble, Grumble! This is followed by a cough Followed by another, and a third, Three radial engines, a loud, deep purr, Delightful noises from a big silver bird. She […]

In 1988 McGeorge Bundy, President Kennedy’s National Security Advisor, commented there was just a 1-in-100 chance the Cuban Missile Crisis would have escalated to a nuclear war. But, probabilities and odds and chance are interesting things. Most people use the terms without thinking about what they are really saying. Consider: what’s the probability Ted Williams […]

The island covers just 61 square miles, it’s currently home to about 5,200 people, it lies about 90 miles or so south-east of Athens, and about 90 miles north of Crete. Except for the fact that it’s one of the many gorgeous Greek islands “floating” in the Aegean Sea, it would be forgotten by history, […]

Here’s a simple question: If you were hiring someone to provide dental care, would you insist applicants be dentists? It seems reasonable to me, but not, apparently, to some people at Walter Reed National Medical Center. Though, the issue isn’t dentists – perhaps that’s next, but about pastoral care, specifically Catholic pastoral care. A long […]

The folks in Washington tell us that the US must not let Russia win in Ukraine, that this is about sustaining and defending a rules-based international order, and that if we don’t stop Russia now, Russia will only want more. And other countries would be convinced that since Russia got away with it, they could […]

Author’s Note: I was looking at pictures of shattered buildings in Bakhmut, then I ran out to get groceries and this just popped into my head… Arrias ******* Time for Bakhmut to Burn For days, for weeks, for months, The siege guns have pounded away, A city shattered, houses now but rubble, The guns fire […]