The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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December, 1914. For over four months, Europe had been embroiled in war. What was initially conceived to be a quick conflict had become a stalemate unlike anything the world had yet seen. With the advent of newer, deadlier weapons of war, the word slaughter had been redefined to accommodate the new world of mass killing. In the first Battle of Ypres, a.k.a. Bloody Flanders, the month-long battle that had just ended on 22 November, saw over 290,000 total casualties on both sides to include, 19,530...
I woke up this morning to the news that Donald Trump had won the presidency yet again. I will be honest. Like I stated in a previous Robservation, I am not a “Trump can never do wrong” guy and there are many things about him that I do not necessarily like. Did I vote for him? Yes. There was absolutely no way I would ever vote for Harris. No Way!! If there had been a viable alternative out there, possibly. But there wasn’t. So, at one point I am happy that Trump won (actually several point...
Trump won. By now, everybody knows about it but at the same time, many refuse to accept. It has been interesting to see the left and how they cannot deal with it. To be honest, back in 2020, many on the right lost their minds as well but the left’s approach from celebrities, colleges and universities, and all the way to the media has been beautiful. What has become plainly obvious is that our society has largely become a bunch of babies who when they do not get their way, they react through t...
I have no idea who this Robservation is for. Sometimes it is easy for me to decide what to write about. Many news stories always seem to reach out and grab me. And right now, there is no shortage of interesting stories. This Robservation, however, is going to be a little different. A couple of weeks ago, I was telling this story to my brother and something spoke to me and said I should share this as a Robservation. You have always been told that there are two sides to a story. I often say that...
After I wrote my latest Robservation, almost as soon as I sent it in, Iran started launching missiles at Israel - - again!! According to the news, the Iranians launched almost two-hundred missiles, drones and rockets into Israel. Thank God, our God, almost all of those projectiles were defeated and sent down without causing too much damage or casualties. But watching the attack on the television this morning was something that angered me. The entire world, with some notable exceptions, seem to...
When Adolf Hitler first came into power in 1933, he promised his people a glorious, 1,000-year Reich where they would rule the world. On 8 May 1945, that delusional dream became just that - - only a dream. Sir Arthur Travis Harris, (my personal WWII hero), also affectionately known as “Bomber Harris” by some and “Butcher” by others, took over the reigns of Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command in February 1942. This highly single-minded and focused combat commander once wrote, “The Germans e...
There is one thing I think I have been able to do fairly well since I first started writing these Robservations for the Gazette in 2015. 174 columns later, this is probably my first or maybe second “rant.” But this political season has me shaking my head and realizing as usual that stressing over things I cannot control is counter-productive and that in the end, my source is God and God alone. Nevertheless, we all live in this fallen world and I still find myself looking at the enemy bec...
Just as I was finishing this Robservation, President Biden announced that he is out of the running. More to come later. ****************************************************************************** So, here we are. I am writing this one week after the Trump assassination attempt. Like many of us, I am troubled. Not so much that an idiot kid would try to do something like this but rather the mess the Secret Service (SS) made out of the entire situation. In no way am I going to condemn the...
I must admit, this is becoming an almost monthly event. With so much going on and so many topics to cover, it has become increasingly difficult to write about a single topic. As you can see, this month’s contribution is no different. So, let’s get started. 1. The toughest job in the country. Let there be no doubt, there are dozens of difficult jobs. Jobs that tax bodies physically and that drain the mind and soul spiritually. But as I watch the news, I have come to believe that there is one job...
1. Harrison Butker: By now, I am sure all of you have heard of the controversy over Kansas City Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker, and his commencement speech that he gave at Benedictine College last week. It is amazing to me how much hate his speech has brought out. This is especially true of our forever tolerant and woke lunatics on the left. It is hard to understand so much misplaced and unchanneled anger. Whenever something like this comes up, and it always does, my suggestion is not to listen...
I really do not hate a lot of things. I do hate broccoli. I hate asparagus, kale and many things that belong under a lawn mower. I do like cucumbers, green beans, peas, lettuce, slaw and to me, the best green food is. . . you guessed it – key lime pie. I hate willful ignorance to where you point something out as undeniable truth yet people still want to disagree with you. When I was still in the Air Force, I was teaching out at Maxwell AFB when an instructor from another seminar came into my r...
In the final scene in the classic movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai, British officer, Major Clipton, looks over the carnage of the destroyed train and the dead bodies lying about and utters the immortal line, “Madness. Madness.” Well, it looks like we too are approaching the closing scene in our own movie. I look at many of the things going on around this country and all I can utter is, “Madness.” Let’s look at some of the things that should cause each of us to pause and think about who we el...
Our great republic is on track to be doomed. At a minimum, if we do not pull our collective heads out of the hole, we are doomed. There was a time when people prided themselves on common sense. Today, not so much. It seems the more stupid, ignorant and blind to reality people are, the happy the world seems to be to them. No matter what people want to think or believe, in this world there are still obvious rights and wrongs. Shades of gray exist for sure but I hate (not really) to burst some...
As usual, there always seems to be a lot going on in the world. So this week I bring to you my not-so-world-famous “Bits and Pieces; version 18.” 1. The Border (Again): Several columns back, I wrote about our southern border. And in that time, it has not gotten any better; only worse. It is sickening to watch and from my perspective, the true human tragedy is not necessarily the plight of the illegal immigrants, sad as it is on a personal level, but rather what is becoming of this country. It...
In the thirteen years that I have been writing these Robservations for the Gazette, this is the first time that I am writing an “in your face” religious column, if you will. Although I am sure my leanings come out many times in my writings, this was never intended to be the purpose of my Robservations column. I must admit that this Christmas Season has been a little challenging for me. Not so much with issues in my own home but I see many things that given the opportunity and if allowed, the...
Several years ago, I read with interest an article about Anti-DWI devices in several states being installed on vehicles of convicted drunk drivers. On the surface it sounds like a great idea and I must admit that at least some politicians are trying to keep word on being tougher regarding their state laws. At one level, it seems like many new politicians want to do the right thing in many instances. But the anti-DWI device can be both a good and a bad thing. First the good. America seems to be...
By now, everybody reading this Robservation is aware of the war that is raging in Israel. The Hamas attacks have been ruthless and bloody. Israel has responded and will continue to respond as necessary. Just to set the record straight, I believe Israel has EVERY right to defend itself. Period. I was reading my Bible the other day and came across Proverbs 12:24. It says, “The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack will be put to forced labor.” It is interesting that it doesn’t say somet...
As I write this Robservation, I must admit that I am angry. I once got some words of wisdom from a writing mentor and he told me that you should never write when you are angry. Once your words have been set loose, they can never be recalled. It is much like the spoken word. That is exactly the reason I refuse to argue with my wife. We have been married for 38 years now and I cannot tell you the last time we had an argument about anything. 30 years? Probably. When I was young and dumb no doubt....
As a regular Alabama Gazette columnist, it always does my heart good to hear of letters sent to the paper. Good or bad, without feedback, you rarely get a full appreciation of how readers are responding to your work. As someone who has written a couple of books, several screenplays, over four dozen book reviews, close to 200 columns for the Gazette and other papers and professional journals, I have opened myself up to a lot of positive and negative feedback. I welcome that. But to be a writer,...
1. I will be the first to admit that I got it wrong. Big time. When President Biden first got into office, I said that he would not make it through his first two years. I thought there was no way in "H-E double hockey sticks" he was going to. But in my defense, nobody in our entire galaxy foresaw how incredibly bad Kamala was going to be. One look at her and you want to breathe a sigh of relief that she is not one step closer to the nuclear codes. But this is not about her. Everyone knows how...
Four years ago, I wrote the first part of this Robservation. It doesn’t seem that long ago but it was. Not surprisingly, things have not even come close to changing. You might even say that things under the new administration are far worse. Why? Because they are. But I felt compelled to reiterate the first part of this and to add a couple of more items. The lie is still in force and like the Wizard of Oz, the alphabet networks are hellbent on not letting us look at the man behind the curtain. H...
As I write this, today is the 8th anniversary of my father’s passing. Sad day for my super small family. My feeling matches the overcast skies here in Montgomery. Miss you, dad. What I wanted to write about today was the Durham Report. There is so much there and I cannot believe our prisons are not filled up with lawless politicians and alleged protectors of our democratic republic. What I have seen thus far is frightening. But before I write about the report, I want to read the whole 300+ pages...
Hello my fellow Robservationites! Today I am bringing you the 16th Edition of my “Bits and Pieces.” For all of you who are familiar with this column, you know there comes a time when there is so much going on that I just want to touch base with several stories instead of focusing on just one topic. So, here we go. But first, this is my 158th Robservation. Anyone who knows me realizes that I write a lot about German ace Hans-Joachim Marseille. He shot down 158 airplanes. What does that mean? Wel...
I just finished watching Top Gun Maverick for the one billionth time. No, it never gets old. The wife and I really love that movie. When watched sequentially with the first movie, the changes are really eye opening. Among the most noticeable is “Phoenix” played by Monica Barbaro. Good luck finding a female combat pilot in the first movie. They did not exist at the time. To me, this is the most noticeable change. Women have fought hard to earn the right to fly these advanced aircraft and it is...
Okay, I am going to show my age. There was an episode in the 1966-67 season of the comedy F-Troop when Hekawi Chief Wild Eagle is sitting with his sidekick Crazy Cat when Crazy Cat looks up into the sky and says, "Chief, I have a riddle for you. What has big round shape, carries man and dog and flies?" The chief answers he doesn't know but when he looks up into the sky, he exclaims, "IT IS BALLOOOOOON!" For more than fifty years, I have remembered that stupid episode and have often looked up in...
