Posted September 06, 2022in Stray Thoughts
These days, I stand in front of audiences and engage in what is politely called “public speaking” more often than even Mr. Gentry ever imagined when I showed up at his office door 55 years ago with a bug-eyed expression of concern. Mr. Gentry was the guidance counselor at Davis
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Posted August 29, 2022in Stray Thoughts
President Joe Biden’s decision to cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loans for many borrowers is fair game for vigorous debate — and disagreement.Americans have been debating and disagreeing for 246 years. What jumps out in this latest dispute is how some politicians are blind to the inconsistencies in
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Posted August 26, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Not all of the best medicine comes with a prescription from a physician. Don’t read this to mean I am advocating treating coronavirus with ivermectin, a drug more often used on horses. That’s not what is on my mind today. Recent news has left many of us discouraged. Floods, wind
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Posted August 08, 2022in Stray Thoughts
People in the health care field have worked their tails off since the Covid pandemic hit Iowa with a vengeance in 2020. Doctors, nurses and all manner of technicians and support staff have performed heroically under circumstances that often were trying. But the death this year of a patient at
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Posted August 01, 2022in Stray Thoughts
It is difficult for many of us to muster empathy for people accused of crimes who have complaints about the way police treated them. This lack of empathy probably occurs because ordinary folks do not think they will be in situations like people accused of crimes. If that includes you,
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Posted July 12, 2022in Stray Thoughts
It was not in the menu, but there was a heaping helping of irony served up one evening last week at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was dining at Morton’s steakhouse. Demonstrators were outside, intent on ensuring he left with indigestion and not just a
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Posted June 20, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Here we are, well into year three of the effects and after-effects of Covid. An oft-heard comment during this time has come from people who believe government should simply butt out. These people believe government should leave it to individuals, and parents, to decide what is best for themselves and
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Posted June 13, 2022in Stray Thoughts
What is happening to us? What passes for public discussion these days certainly is not civil or thoughtful. Nor is it really much of a discussion. If you read the comments from some supposed leaders, you find references to the members of the other political party being our enemies. It’s
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Posted June 06, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Middle ground seems to have disappeared in the United States, and that’s unfortunate. These days, there’s no appetite for the give-and-take that leads to compromise. Regardless of the side you are on, it’s pretty much “my way or the highway.” Speaking of highways, in 1973, Congress and President Richard Nixon
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Posted May 23, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Officially, bishops and archbishops in the Roman Catholic Church have one boss, the pope. Of course, their ultimate authority figure is Jesus. That’s why many Catholics and non-Catholics have been asking a very simple question in recent days: W.W.J.D.? What would Jesus do? The question has been circulating since the
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