Everything Else Archives - Page 5 of 17

December 20, 2022

By Bill Clontz December 19, 2022 December 20, 2022 3 Comments

Farewell to the January 6 Committee

The January 6 Committee closes out its work this week, with one last public session and vote on referrals to DOJ, release of their Executive Summary and shortly, their full report. We owe this group a lot. This was, in my view, a model of how an investigative Congressional committee should operate. They were focused, professional, and productive. They did an even better job than did the Watergate Committee. Over time, I expect we will recognize they informed the public and shaped public understanding of the threats faced, and they did so to a greater degree than many expected (or still recognize).

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Tis the Season of Politics, Family, Science – and More

By Bill Clontz November 26, 2022 November 29, 2022 6 Comments

Assorted Issues and Observations to Share

Thanksgiving

I can never think about Thanksgiving without remembering the now iconic column written by journalist/humorist Art Buchwald, explaining the holiday to the French (he was assigned to Paris at the time, with the Herald Tribune). He closed the column with two very true observations – this is the one day of the year almost the entire country eats the same things and – it is the one day of the year Americans eat better than the French.

I made a harvest pie this year for thanksgiving,

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Time for a Grab Bag Week

By Bill Clontz October 9, 2022 October 11, 2022 Leave a Comment

Lots of Odds and Ends in the News & in Our Heads This Week

It is That Time of Year

A lot of things man-made and natural come to the forefront this time of year, and a few extras are up front this year. Let’s take a look. The first three are inexorably linked to each other, the rest, free range.

Lack of Electoral Enthusiasm by Youth and Blacks

This promises to be one of the more unusual and more important midterm elections in many decades. Some polls and pundits indicate that enthusiasm is lower than it might be among young voters and among Black voters

I surely get it that any number of people and groups feel that not enough has been accomplished yet on their agenda priorities and for the nation’s good.

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The Subtle and Wonderful Experience of Walking with a Dog

By Bill Clontz October 2, 2022 October 4, 2022 4 Comments

The Effects are as Good on You as They are on the Dog

This Blog Gets Happier in a Moment

But first, a couple of necessary sad notes. We received an urgent call this past weekend from a close friend who was about to lose her dog. After a long series of illnesses and related problems, it was time to let Hairy the Corgi go. Never an easy decision, even when it is the right thing at the right time, as this was, but there comes a time when what is best for the dog is to set them free from pain and problems.

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Water, Water Everywhere. And Yet, Not a Drop to Spare

By Bill Clontz August 29, 2022 September 13, 2022 Leave a Comment

Nature is Kicking Our Butt Over Water, with Too Much and Not Enough. It’s Mostly Our Fault

The Term “Our Chickens Have Come to Roost” Sounds Right

I have been thinking about this posting for a few weeks. A good assortment of articles and reflections are being written about all this just now. Many are well worth your time to read, based on what I have been seeing

For our time together today, I thought we might reflect on the extreme opposites that are pounding the world and what their occurring at the same time mean for us all.

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Anniversaries are a Fine Time for Reflection – and Celebration

By Bill Clontz August 28, 2022 August 30, 2022 1 Comment

Sharing a Half Century+ of Good Fortune & Lessons Learned

A Moment to Pause, Reflect, Celebrate

Life tends to run along with a steady hum, the everyday sometimes drowning out the special with background noise. Anniversaries, like birthdays, provide a good prompt to stop for a moment, step back, reflect on what is/was/will be, and, hopefully, celebrate.

So it was recently in our household. My bride and I celebrated 55 years as a couple just a few days ago. After dealing with the shock of that number (“55?! How is that high a number possible?”),

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A Round of Good News in Medicine, Science, Technology – And Even Politics

By Bill Clontz August 16, 2022 August 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

Turns Out Some Good People are Doing Some Good Work

Take a Break

We do a lot about politics and governance in this space. You may have noticed that. How about we detour a bit and look at six encouraging stories in other areas? Well, one is a political story, but it too is a bit of unexpected, good news.

Read on, enjoy, and reflect. We will get back to current events soon enough

Let’s Get The Political Stories Out Of The Way First

A Productive Congress! Who Knew?!

The NY Times had a most interesting article a few days ago about how surprisingly effective this Congress has been.

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About The Week

By Bill Clontz July 23, 2022 July 25, 2022 Leave a Comment

The Last Week Was Full of Noteworthy Topics. Some Highlights to Look At Closer

Russia and Ukraine: Good News, Bad News

First the bad news. Russia continues to make some progress in its aggression, now occupying about 20% of Ukraine’s Eastern sectors. And it continues a clear policy of terrorizing civilians and destroying communities. Bombing cities can be an acceptable if terrible thing in wars with much at stake, as WWII. But doing so in this conflict is clearly immoral. The list of war crimes and abuse gets ever longer.

But there is good news,

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