Winston Churchill and Winston Churchill

I recently finished a novel, written in 1904 by Winston Churchill, called The Crossing. The book (if I may pose an opinion) started off great, became long in the second third, and partially redeemed itself at the end. Briefly, the story follows a kid from early teens through fifteen or so years as his experiences are narrated by himself. The action takes place in Kentucky around the 1780's and his travels spin him from Michigan to New Orleans, fighting Indians, land grabbers............
I was surprised that Churchill, in his early thirties when the book was written, should have such a grasp of American History. Well, ----- he probably didn't. The Brit you are assuming I'm writing about didn't write the book (however, he did earn a Nobel in Literature). Another Winston Churchill, an American version, a contemporary to the other, (they actually communicated over the name confusion, where the Brit offered to inject a middle initial to his work, which he did) wrote The Crossing and several other books during his career. His natural style of writing, (if you're into writing techniques you might be interested) relatively rare at the time, made him very successful and wealthy. I posit, though early on he was better known than his counterpart, that his success later in life might have been better linked to name association than to quality writing. I suppose, though, that I should read more than one of his books before I label the guy. To be fair, I'll shoehorn in McCarthy's The Road so as to give me a fresh perspective on another Churchill book.

More details

I Say Try Them in New York City

Cal Thomas, an editorialist I used to like, needs to retire. Lately, (unless my viewpoint has changed recently), Cal has failed to proof his column before sending it to press. I know his political conservatism supports a military tribunal for the Gitmo guys who were involved in the 9/11 attack, but keep in mind- read his own words (11/16/09) that a tribunal would not take place until the end of the war. Huh? Which war? Iraq? Afghanistan? On terror? These detainees are from places like Saudi Arabia, South Yemen........ Are we at war with ALL of these countries? Are we at war with an organization or two? I suggest the war on terror isn't going to end any time soon. These terrorists will never be tried by the military if we wait for the end to an arbitrary declaration of war against any and all threats forever. We need to try these men now- more likely in a couple of years- in a civilian court (they were involved in the killing of civilians), in New York (near their crime) by New Yorkers (a large, pissed off jury pool). Any concern Cal Thomas has in the ineptitude of our judicial system (again, read his editorial) should not affect the decision to try these guys lest we mock the system of justice we offer for ALL criminals. Try them now in civilian court or wait until they are dead and try them in a military court once the war on terrorism is declared won (or lost).

Tired of News Overload Tirades

Sometimes I miss the '70's when the evening news was condensed into about 20 minutes a night with 5 minutes dedicated to weather and sports. Any need for more specific information was to be found in the next day's newspaper.
Nowadays, the same daily or continuing stories are expanded ad nauseum to 24 hours a day. Worse, the various outlets- CNBC, MSNBC, FOX, CNN, etc.- go to ridiculous lengths to bias their stories. With so much competition for ratings, each news source, in the business to stay on the air, culls a particular audience through a liberal or conservative hyperbole that drives me nuts. From Leiberman to O'Reilly, Wolfe to Rachel, the emphasis is more on expounding viewers' leaning than objective reporting. They (cable news dudes and dudettes) become the focus of our attention rather than the content of their reports. They are TV stars in their own minds, forever aware of the ratings they pull, and theatrical to draw an increase in such. There once was a time when we looked to our newsmen- can you say "Cronkite"?- with respect and trust, when the news reports were relatively free of editorialization. When the news report was just that. A report. Aah. I must be getting old.

We're hosting Thanksgiving!

Yes we are. Load 'em up and fire 'em in the front door. My last head count was 27 heads. Stop to think, that's 27 forks, knives, spoons, plates, glasses, chairs, place settings- you think about that- all for a great day. Can't wait. I've ordered 2 turkeys- a 20 pounder to be roasted in the oven boob side down and loaded- not with dressing (dries out the meat) but with onions, celery, other stuff (no, not stuffing), though there certainly will be stuffing, homemade if I don't screw it up and am forced to pull out the Stove Top. Oh, yeah, the second bird, a 14 pounder, will be hyped and deep fried. Also expect my homemade pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie (I think), the usual other typical Turkey day fixins, and maybe even a pot of Wassail.

You talkin' to me?

Rife With Consternation

How does it work? Who gets my money? Blue Cross/ Blue Shield or the United States Government? Work work work, work work work. Self pay. No Caterpillar, no group policy, no break. Nada. Imagine- 25 years in business and insurance premiums paid surpassing $150,000- and that's just for health insurance. Don't forget life, auto, business liability, comp., inland marine, completed operations, home owner's, contractor's, liability umbrella.......... At this point, all I look for is a better deal.If Blue Cross has to cut it's rates to compete with a public option, go public option. If my rates are to go up, tank public option. If nationalized health care costs me, forget it. If it saves me dough, then I say go.The problem is, we taxpayers can't get a straight answer from our lawmakers because they must maintain their party loyalty. Good or bad, costly or cost effective, socialism or social rescue. It all depends on which side of the fence you reside and just how far from the fence you sit. My bet is that the real reason a straight answer is not to be found rests on the probability that nobody can accurately project the cost, success or failure potential of the bill. I can only hope that whatever way this thing goes- left or right- my pocketbook doesn't have to carry more burden. Ciao.

Truncated.

Don't even bother reading 2 posts down. The whole thing is messed up. I'll reissue it some other time. Sorry.

Sorry

I lost (below) some part of my diatribe listing all the insurances I pay besides health. Don't know what happened. You can still get the gist

What I Do

These are some examples of what I do during the day- hands on, not by proxy. I wield the tools and cut the wood. Still fun after all these years.