I was too young for the funeral, but I do remember being in my mom’s arms as she wept for him at the wake in our home. Although I did not experience the same impact his death had on my mom and my older siblings — who had but five years before experienced the death of a baby brother who preceded me— I did have nightmares of the wake; apparently even at the young age of four I was skeptical when told, "Daddy was sleeping." I remember Mom consoling me when I w...
Why in the world would the Republicans choose ABC’s Chuck Gibson to interview Palin? It was tough enough to make a solo debut without this pompous broadcaster shooting questions at her. Obviously she was nervous and programmed but she would have come off better had she been more relaxed with the likes of Judy Woodruff or Katie Couric. Nor will Sean Hannity coming up next week going to help her out because he’ll be putting words in her mouth and fawning all over...
While the knights dispersed to care for their war-mounts, another rode up to the leader. With tempered agony in his voice this heavy set rider said, "My Lord Protector, are you not anxious to arrive at the castle? In truth, your father impatiently awaits details of battle." The lord shrugged in response. "Oh, much of it has been dispatched— barely worthy of the town-crier anymore." "Still, the cry of distant victory is not sufficient to curb the appetite of curiosity," said th...
The best economic plan for the candidates is not the simplistic either/or top down/bottom up offerings. The hard fact remains that economic decision making rests at the top whether it be Wall Street or the Government, and as a rule by the former which can be driven either by the bottom line or by a sense of civic duty, or by a combination of both. For example, it was Henry Ford who decided to sacrifice or at least moderate the bottom line in the short-run by instituting the f...
Although I’ve supported since Truman pushed for it in the late ’40s, universal healthcare can be put aside until we settle the horrendous issue of so many thousands going in hock or declaring bankruptcy owing to major medical bills in arrears. There should be for the uninsured and underinsured alike an accumulated floor one should have to pay for serious medical conditions. A youngster in his twenties barely above the minimum wage hit with appendicitis or a weekend sports injur...
I see no reason for the media and political wings to go ballistic over the selection of Sahra Palin. I think it’s cool to put a capable young woman—not to mention she’s beautiful—on the ticket. A 230 year history of a stable democracy is comfortably in a position to place the nation in good hands in the event of a dreaded situation. Under such circumstance even Dan Quayle would have carried us through—think Ford, Johnson, Truman. Besides, it’s tim...
In this era of Super Bowls, Wild Cards and American Idol, it strikes me as petulant to begrudge Obama his night under the stars. Give him credit for staging such a spectacular. No one took issue with Wendell Willke delivering a speech to hundreds of thousands, the Pope or Billy Graham at Yankee Stadium and Martin Luther King at the Mall. And who could forget the dramatic landing and Mission Accomplished speech atop an aircraft carrier. Copyright © 2008 Richard R. Kennedy All right...
Now rappin strong common sense; I ain’t waitin for Providence. For real, I’m gonna make it in the world. I jerk my limbs, and rap out: Unc’ Tom’s not true. Why flake and keep pride furled-? — As much my world as theirs to chew. Shoot, the earth turns for all— yeah, even for us blacks too — but I ain’t gonna brawl, and later find I gotta crawl.
With tonight's home run Hillary should be in the Hall of Fame. She blew away any doubt that she is a real team player. Of course, Fox News called the hit a foul.
She took down a cookie jar and poured from the bag a myriad of hard candies into the jar, and took it into the living room to set it down next to the wooden bowl. Starting back for the kitchen, she paused, turned to the mantelpiece and stared at the yellow paper. Taking the wargram and holding it at arms length, she glanced at it, then slowly walked to the armchair and sat on its edge. She read it again and again—always it read the same way. Finally she rubbed her eyes a...
DH as we know it—"Old timers day every day"— should be done away, but managers in both leagues should be allowed one pinch hitter AB without having to remove the pitcher, or a slumping batter. To add to the strategy, such a designated pinch hitter forgoes this strategy except for traditional pinch hitting duty the next two games. The manager, however, is allowed this option in every game provided it is a different bench player. This compromise should make it accept...
Eric Alterman, the liberal media watchdog, has every right to continue to bludgeon the media for outrageous reporting notorious for omissions and outright myth-making disinformation. However, to single out Dana Milbank, the Washington Post’s White House columnist, Alterman is childishly shutting down opposing views of the other. Milbank is in a position to say what he thinks and has no obligation to temper it with the other side—few columnists do. If he thinks Obama has dev...
Sally was at the threshold of womanhood and she knew it from the hours spent before the mirror admiring God’s miraculous evolution from a boring, simplistic state of angles and straight lines to the complex math of subtle curves. Pam, on the other hand, though perhaps as blossoming—conceivably more so—was unaware of it, or did not dwell on it. There lay the difference—that which is market-able, though resistant, perhaps indifferent to fashionable demand and supply owing...
Though the Russian overreaction with tanks reminiscent of old Soviet tactics should be condemned we must keep in mind that overreaction by the US serves no purpose, especially in light of Georgia initiating the attack on Tskhinvali. Bush’s condemnation that invasion of territorial rights is not acceptable in the 21 st Century is laughable. McCain’s bluster shows he’s still a cold front warrior in a time when our resources are spread too thin. Secretary of State Rice has no...
Helplessly, delicately, tearfully she toppled from the beam. How penetrating ABCs "Agony of Defeat"! Not in the courage of the loss, but in the ordeal of he who suffers witness from distant bleachers — at a loss to commiserate in the privacy of locked arms. Copyright © 2008 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: Aug 19, 2008. http://stevendedalus.joeuser.com http://www.lulu.com/rrkfinn