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Apollo 11

On July 16, 1969 NASA's Apollo 11 mission took off for the Moon. Four days later on July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong would famously take that first step on the Moon, saying "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." That was fifty years ago. I personally had a lot going on around that same time and consequently I will never forget exactly where I was and what I was doing on July 20, 1969 the moment Neil Armstrong's foot hit the ground on the Moon. But first, a little personal history to set the stage: During my years at Baylor University (1964-1968) America was rapidly escalating it's presence in South Vietnam as part of the Cold War with China and Russia. US military personnel in Vietnam jumped from ~16,000 in 1964 to over 465,000 by the end of 1967. The year 1968, which began with the North Vietnamese surprise Tet Offensive [when most American's thought we were winning] would turn out to be the worst year of the Vietnam War. [About 17,0
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Recent posts

50th Anniversary

This past May my wife and I celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary. The time has passed quickly but it certainly doesn't seem like 50 years. Like most, we've had our ups and downs in fifty years, but on the whole have been blessed with good health, three fine sons and nine grandchildren. Looking forward to the next chapter.
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Review: The Prophet

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews
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Review: Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Having read only snippets and never a complete biography of Leonardo da Vinci before, I have no basis of comparison from which to judge the accuracy of Isaacson's beautifully written account of Leonardo's life. Assuming it's accurate, Isaacson's account leaves no doubt that; the man was a true genius, he led a fascinating life much of which was enabled by being born near the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe and he was fortunate to have been associated with so many other brilliant characters. The only minor issue I had with the book was not always being able to tell exactly what the current scholarly research consensus is about the many mysteries of Leonardo's life versus Isaacson's opinion. The book is well worth reading. View all my reviews
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Review: How to be a conservative

How to be a conservative by Roger Scruton My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews
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The New Republic - RIP

I don't like labels. Labels are an unfortunate legacy of our evolution which once required that instant  "is it friend or foe" decisions be hard-wired as a matter of life and death. You would think that civilized human beings would have had enough time by now to evolve something better than simplistic warning labels like liberal and conservative, but for some reason we still haven't done it. Liberals would label me a conservative although I am often in agreement with ideas which liberals claim to be theirs exclusively. Conservatives would label me a "closet liberal" because I didn't meet some ludicrous litmus test criteria; but frankly, there is no litmus test of what it means to be a conservative that I really give a dam about. And both gladly take my contributions. So why am I rambling on about my personal philosophical leanings? Because I am distressed about the sorry state of "The New Republic" magazine. The latest issue (Feb 2015) was
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White House wants to hear from you about Obamacare (if you agree with them)

I subscribe to e-mails from The White House (like the one below) to keep track of what they are actually saying. Normally their e-mails are recitations of the President's talking points and don't add anything meaningful. However, this time David Simas was soliciting input to prove their case that the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") is actually working. So, since I involuntarily have new health coverage as of January 1 (that's what The White House was asking for) I decided to submit my own "story." Here's what I submitted: I am retired. I pay for Medicare but I don't rely on it for quality health care. I have new coverage as of January 1st which I was forced to purchase privately as an individual. I believe I was driven to this largely by one of the unintended consequences of Obamacare which is that large employers will now more easily drop retiree group medical plans (to pay for other costs of Obamacare) citing Obamacare as the backstop for t
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