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FENDER SKIRTS AND SUPPER I know some of you will not understand this, but I bet you know someone who might. I came across this phrase yesterday. ‘ FENDER SKIRTS ‘A term I haven’t heard in a long time, and thinking about ‘fender skirts’ started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear […]
Posted in: Senior Citizens
Beware of Liberals Touting Collectivism and Seeking Higher Taxes
January 24, 2013
The following is an analysis by John Gray, professor emeritus at the London School of Economics: “One of the features that distinguished Bolshevism from Tsarism was the insistence of Lenin and his followers on the need for a complete overhaul of society. Old-fashioned despots may modernize in piecemeal fashion if doing so seems necessary to […]
Posted in: Culture, Economics, Ethics, Government, History, Liberal Politics, Philosophy, Politics, Progressive Economics, Senior Citizens, Taxes
An Economic Disaster Of Our Own Making
January 20, 2013
“The quality of U.S. fiscal institutions has deteriorated. Recent actions by Congress and Presidents indicate no willingness to recognize limits to debt and to engage in fundamental fiscal reform. They have reacted to each deadline, such as the recent fiscal cliff, by taking minimal action and delaying fundamental reform that would stabilize the debt ratio. […]
Posted in: Congress, Conservative Politics, Economy, Federal Deficit, Gold Standard, Senior Citizens, Taxes
An Example Of Reconciliation Of Plato With Christianity
January 19, 2013
Boethius in the sixth century A.D. and Thomas Aquinas 500 years later, devoted their lives to the reconciliation of Platonic Philosophy with Christianity. One can see in this presentation reason why they both believed that Plato, at an earlier time, was teaching much of the same message that Christianity brought forth later.
Posted in: Boethius, Books, Chrstianity, Culture, Education, Ethics, Faith, History, Literature, Medievel Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion, Senior Citizens, Theology
PAX AMERICANA?
January 9, 2013
Yale Professor Charles Hill writing Nov. 30 at The Caravan, a blog of the Hoover Institution: The mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler prophesied that “We shall not get through this time without difficulty, for all the factors are prepared.” Kepler was predicting the Thirty Years’ War of 1618-1648 that would launch the modern international state system […]
Posted in: Conservative Politics, Culture, Foreign Policy, Government, History, Military, National Security, Political, Politics, Senior Citizens
Ingratitude
September 1, 2012
The Roman Statesman and Philosopher Lucius Anneaus Seneca believed that ingratitude should be a crime dealt with and punished by the State. Although most all today would disagree that the former should be the case, most today would agree that we live in a time where ingratitude is certainly rampant. Seneca in his book on […]
Philosophy As A Way Of Life And An Adjunct To Theology
July 14, 2012
The following text is from a book review printed in today’s ” Wall Street Journal”. By BRENDAN BOYLE ‘Vain is the word of that philosopher which does not heal any suffering of man.” By the lights of this maxim, taken from the fourth-century B.C. Greek philosopher Epicurus, contemporary philosophy looks awfully vain. Upon opening the […]
Posted in: Senior Citizens
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
April 12, 2012
Professor Andrew Stark of the University of Toronto quotes the Greek thinker Epicurius in stating that “The relationship between a person and his death, is a strange one. Whenever one is present, the other is nowhere to be seen. As long as a person is alive, his death has not yet happened. And of course […]
Posted in: Chrstianity, Church, Contemporary living, Culture, Ethics, everyday life, Faith, Happiness, Philosophy, Reformed theology, Religion, Senior Citizens, Theology
“The Lord commands us t…
April 5, 2012
"The Lord commands us to do 'good to all men,' universally, a great part of whom, estimated according to their own merits, are very undeserving; but here the Scripture assists us with an excellent rule, when it inculcates, that we must not regard the intrinsic merit of men, but must consider the image of God in them, to which we owe all possible honour and love."
John Calvin: from " The Institutes of Religion" published 1541.
Posted in: Senior Citizens
Those Oldies But Goodies
March 14, 2011
As I was driving today my radio was tuned in to the XM music of the 50’s station. This is music that I listened to in High School. I liked it, but never gave it much thought beyond it being the background music of my adolescent years. It’s rather astounding that the simplistic three chord […]
Posted in: Aging, Contemporary living, Counter Culture, Culture, Entertainment, everyday life, Getting Old, Grandchildren, Happiness, High School, Hobbies, interests, Memories, Music, Nostalgia, Over 65, Pastimes, Popular Culture, Recreation, Retirees, Retirement, Senior Citizens, senior years, Youth
The Roots Of Boredom
February 6, 2011
“All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone”. Thus said the French philosopher Blaise Pascal. I used to think that boredom was an affliction that was peculiar to the young. Children and Youth are always rendering that complaint and view it as something very difficult to endure. I […]
Posted in: Aging, Books, Chrstianity, Church, Contemporary living, Culture, everyday life, Faith, Happiness, interests, Over 65, Pastimes, People, Philosophy, Poetry, Popular Culture, Psychology, Reading, Recreation, Religion, Retirees, Senior Citizens, senior years, Soren Kierkegaard, Theology, Vacations, Youth
A Tribute To My Bowling Team-Mate
January 28, 2011
Today I lost a team-mate and a friend. She died unexpectedly, although when one is in their mid-eighties the possibility is certainly always there. I bowl on a senior league bowling team. We bowl every Friday and have a great time. Gayle was one of our most enthusiastic members and never missed a game […]
Posted in: Aging, Bowling, Contemporary living, Culture, everyday life, Getting Old, Golden Age, Happiness, Hobbies, interests, Memories, Over 65, Pastimes, People, Popular Culture, Psychology, Recreation, Retirees, Retirement, Senior Citizens, senior years, Sports
Are Things Today Really That Bad?
January 25, 2011
The economy is depressed, people are out of work, real estate is in the tank and people are just generally fed up with a declining standard of living and the politicians that have caused most of the problems. If this is your view of life in the twenty first century, let us consider what life […]
A Lesson From The Not So Distant Past
January 4, 2011
This is Rudolf Havenstein. The name probably means nothing to most people. However, during the hyper-inflation in Germany that commenced after WWI., this man was the President of the German Central Banking System. He held essentially the same position that Ben Bernanke holds in the U.S. today. When Germany needed more money to fight WWI. […]
Posted in: Business, Congress, Conservative Politics, Democratic Party, Economics, Economy, Education, Election 2010, Ethics, Federal Deficit, Gold Standard, Government, Health Care Reform, History, Inflation, Jobs, Keynsian Economics, Liberal economics, Liberal Politics, Macro Economics, National Security, Republican Party, Stock Market, Taxes, Tea Party, Wiemar Republic
From Whence Cometh The Rage?
December 19, 2010
The news this week, as every week, is full of stories about people venting their rage against their fellow-man. An individual walked into a school board meeting, drew graffiti on the wall and then pulled a gun and shot at school board members from point-blank range. We hear of road rage with people taking shots […]
Posted in: Aging, Congress, Conservative Politics, Culture, Democratic Party, Economy, Education, Ethics, Government, Jobs, Liberal Politics, Medievel Philosophy, Over 65, Pastimes, People, Philosophy, Politics, Popular Culture, Reading, Religion, Retirees, Senior Citizens, Taxes, Tea Party, Television, Uncategorized
The Art Of Complaining
November 16, 2010
“The meritoriousness of your complaint is directly proportional to the condition of those you are complaining to. The illustration is from the Steven Pastis cartoon “Pearls Before Swine ” He has really hit the nail on the head with this entry from today’s newspaper. Very often great wisdom and heady observation emerge from the wonderful […]
Posted in: Culture, Entertainment, interests, Literature, Over 65, Pastimes, Pearls Before Swine, People, Philosophy, Popular Culture, Reading, Retirees, Satire, Senior Citizens, senior years
Who said Calvinists don’t know how to have fun?
October 24, 2010
The image of the non-fun loving Calvinist is in dire need of exposure to some light of truth. John Calvin, though one of the intellectual giants of Theology, was not the judgmental curmudgeon that he is so often portrayed. Brother Calvin, it seems was often seen, on days other than the Sabbath, lawn bowling in […]
Posted in: Bowling, Calvinist Art, Chrstianity, Church, Faith, History, Jerome Bolsec, Philosophy, Reformed theology, Religion, Satire, Senior Citizens, Theology
Aquinas, Kierkegaard and the demonstrability of the existence of God?
October 12, 2010
Thomas Aquinas believed that the existence of God could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He stated that there were five ways that this proposition was demonstrable. In his “Summa Theologica” Thomas states his case beginning with the theory of motion and the necessity of a prime mover. Aristotle had made this argument previously and […]
Posted in: Calvinist Art, Chrstianity, Church, Medievel Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion, Soren Kierkegaard, Theology
The Meaning of Faith in The Age of Scepticism
June 24, 2010
While scanning the blogosphere and searching for something less depressing than the usual unenlightened nonsense I came across the following: Atheist apologists seem always eager to assert that faith is belief without evidence, notwithstanding that no religion I’m aware of sees it that way (Christianity surely does not) and that dictionaries don’t define it that […]
Posted in: Chrstianity, Church, Culture, Ethics, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, Retirees, Senior Citizens, Theology
National Policy Choices And An Uninformed Majority
June 9, 2010
Recently Zogby International conducted a survey to measure which group of voters were more knowledgeable about the economic policy choices facing the United States. Those questioned were asked if they considered themselves to be Liberal, Moderate or Conservative. They were also asked their political affiliation or party choice either Democrat, Republican or Independent. They were […]
Posted in: Aging, Business, Congress, Conservative Politics, Economics, Economy, Federal Deficit, Government, Inflation, Jobs, Macro Economics, Over 65, Political, Politics, Retirees, Senior Citizens, Taxes
Ford Announces It Will Discontinue Mercury
June 3, 2010
One of the saddest days in American automobile manufacturing history occurred this week as Ford Motor Company has announced plans to drop its Mercury line. Maybe its just nostalgia on my part that makes this news so sad. The Mercury line has not been profitable for many years, but back in the early and mid […]
Libertarians And The Temptation Of The Gold Standard
May 25, 2010
The people who are part of the Tea Party come from many perspectives on the political spectrum and are not all lock step in their ideas of what needs to be done about our national economic dilemma, however an inordinate number of individuals in the Tea Party seem to be of a Libertarian bent and […]
Economic Chaos, Three Possible Solutions
May 8, 2010
It would seem that the recent economic crisis enveloping Greece is merely a preface to what is to come in many of our States and eventually to the U.S. as a whole. Our deficits are staggering and unsustainable. As I see it we have three choices, none of which are ideal. Solution 1. We raise […]
Stops On The Way
March 5, 2010
In 1961 I enlisted in the United States Army. It seemed like the thing to do because, at that time, to say that my life was going nowhere would be a definite understatement. I was 17 years old and no one could tell me anything because I knew it all. When I arrived at Fort […]
Posted in: Aging, Conservative Politics, Culture, Education, Ethics, Golden Age, History, Jobs, Memories, Military, Over 65, over 70, People, Political, Politics, Popular Culture, Retirees, Retirement, Senior Citizens, senior years, Youth
Justice Or Injustice?
February 13, 2010
I recently finished reading “Justice” by Professor Michael J. Sandel. Professor Sandel teaches a class on the same subject at Harvard University. The content of this book is taken from the subject matter that he presents to his classes. He basically wants the reader to examine questions of contemporary controversy and arrive at a way […]
Reminiscing: My First Car
January 30, 2010
In January 1960 I purchased my first car. I was 16 at the time and working as an assistant shipping clerk in a large retail store. One of my fellow workers had a 1949 Plymouth that he was anxious to sell because he was buying a new car. I bought the car for $25,00 and […]
Looking Backward
January 27, 2010
I just finished reading James Michener’s “The Drifters”. This is not one of his best works, but does engage one to think about the preponderance of the underclass in a society as wealthy and upscale as the United States. Michener follows six youth in the late 1960’s as they drift from their comfortable homes to […]
Posted in: Books, Conservative Politics, Counter Culture, Literature, Political, Politics, Uncategorized, Youth
Ode to Retirement
January 23, 2010
How sweet it is to do nothing all day long and after having done so, to rest.
Rethinking Health Care
January 20, 2010
In the 18th century the philosopher Voltaire commented on the Health Care of his day. ” It would seem that the Doctor’s function is to amuse the patient while Time and Nature cure the disease”. Sounds like an HMO to me.
April 8, 2014
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