Yes, me and Schroeder both... In honor of the great Ludwig von Beethoven's 239th birthday, why not pop in a CD or MP3 and take in one of his symphonies: maybe the overlooked 1st, the mighty 3rd, the classic 5th, the serene 6th, the passionate 7th ... or if you have a lot of time on your hands, the transcendent 9th? Blasts from the past: - Happy Birthday, Ludwig (2004) ... in case you want to know why Beethoven is such a big deal - 2nd Annual Beethoven's Birthday Blog (2005) ... including the famous Lucy / Schroeder exchange - Happy Chanukah / Beethoven's Birthday (2006) ... with a few interesting ideas for musical blends … [Read more...]
Harry Reid Compares ObamaCare Foes to Pro-Slavery, Makes Case for His Own Post-Senate, Village-Based Career
Update, 5:00 PM: Witticism of the day goes to the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto, who observes that "[Reid's] success to this point seems something of a miracle--an inspiration to dour, foolish men everywhere." Was that one of the painful throes of sheer desperation we heard from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday?Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took his GOP-blasting rhetoric to a new level Monday, comparing Republicans who oppose health care reform to lawmakers who clung to the institution of slavery more than a century ago.... "Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses … [Read more...]
Monday Quick Hits: GOP Unity, Church & State, Cold Fraud of Climategate
After a busy weekend, all I have to offer are a few worthwhile reads for a Monday: Last week Craig Steiner wrote an insightful piece titled "On GOP Unity in Colorado", especially worthwhile for those who have followed the intense controversy around the "Platform for Prosperity" and misappropriated Tea Party endorsements My Independence Institute colleague Jessica Peck Corry tackles the issue of church-state boundaries and public religious displays in a new Colorado Springs Gazette column, just in time for the Christmas holiday season Compliments of The Climate Realists, Marc Sheppard at American Thinker explains the now-infamous "Hide the Decline" in the Climategate fraud: simply a must-read that only adds to the sting of an … [Read more...]
The Substance Missing from Obama’s Afghanistan Speech at West Point
I listened carefully to Barack Obama's West Point speech yesterday evening -- at least as best I could while indulging the important concerns of the two Little Virtuses and ultimately having to turn off the radio to sit down for dinner. By that point I could tell the speech had dragged on too long for the relatively small amount of substance it contained. I don't need to go into great depth: Powerline's Paul Mirengoff and Red State's Erick Erickson offer excellent analyses of the politics, policies and rhetoric. (And Don Johnson asks where Colorado Republican Senatorial hopefuls Jane Norton, Ken Buck and Tom Wiens come down on Afghanistan.) Meanwhile, if you want to find the depth of substance on the military challenges we face, and … [Read more...]
Happy Thanksgiving
A few items to commend to readers:Michelle Morin has eloquently recounted the historical origins of Thanksgiving Mr. Bob has posted a nostalgic video of a Thanksgiving greeting from our former president Ronald Reagan. Don't forget you can find my 2008 series of "What I'm Thankful For" on one convenient page With that, I'll leave a Thanksgiving meditation from Scripture, Psalm 145 (with passages that caught my attention highlighted in bold):1 I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation … [Read more...]
Happy Veterans Day
Ninety-one years ago today "the war to end all wars" officially ended. Among the millions of dead were more than 100,000 brave American military servicemen out of hundreds of thousands who honorably served (including two of my great uncles: Bill DeGrow and John E. "Ed" DeGrow). In 1954 the commemoration, originally called Armistice Day, expanded to celebrate the service of all American veterans and became known as Veterans Day. Today I join with the millions of other Americans who honor the men and women who have worn the uniform for their sacrificial service on behalf of our nation. I am especially grateful this year to see so many businesses offering promotions that benefit our active duty personnel and veterans. It almost goes … [Read more...]
Do We Still Celebrate the Berlin Wall’s Collapse 20 Years Later?
Twenty years ago today the Berlin Wall came down. Not exactly breaking news for my well-informed readers, but the significance of the event is hard to overstate. For five minutes of valuable reflection on the power of freedom with a stirring Beethoven soundtrack, check out this terrific video from the Competitive Enterprise Institute: … [Read more...]
Historic Hillsdale Homecoming Win: Chargers Down No. 1 GVSU Lakers
You'll grant me a few indulgences for posting this one -- after all, how often do I bother to write about my alma mater's athletic feats? Not too often, I can assure you. But what happened yesterday in the old Hills & Dales on homecoming rates among the most historic gridiron happenings on Muddy Waters Field: the Chargers toppled the number 1 team in Division II, the perennial powerhouse Grand Valley State Lakers, 27-24. Well, historic enough to make the Detroit News, anyway. The last time Hillsdale beat conference foe Grand Valley? Fifteen years ago, the year before I began my (non-athletic) college career. True, because it certainly didn't happen during my brief tenures as sports editor for both the Hillsdale Collegian (1997) and … [Read more...]
Restoring Some Substance to the Political Junk Food Menu at Mt. Virtus
With the nearly never-ending election cycle, those of us here in the trenches can sometimes too easily lapse into the day-to-day tussles of the news without enough time spent in more serious reflection. (Or maybe it's just those of us with small children whose attention spans are so easily distracted.) Earlier this year I wrote several more reflective essays, most of which have ended up ignored by now. But while I still plan to write about the immediate issues of the day and follow events leading up to the 2010 election, I am also interested in engaging once more in deeper discussions about the status and future of the conservative movement -- albeit, as dictated by the limits of my own time, occasionally. What (besides the … [Read more...]
Remembering General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1828-1914)
In recent years, one of the more famous heroic figures of the American Civil War -- popularized by the Pulitzer-winning novel Killer Angels and the movie rendition Gettysburg -- citizen-professor-soldier Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was born on September 8, 1828. Today is the 181st anniversary of his birth. Chamberlain, of course, was the hero of Gettysburg's Little Round Top (1863) as commander of the 20th Maine, was wounded six times in battle, the general who presided over the surrender of the Confederate Army at Appomattox, Governor of Maine from 1867 to 1871, and President of Bowdoin College. If you want to learn more, I recommend In the Hands of Providence, a very good Chamberlain biography. … [Read more...]
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