Greetings, Dear and Gentle Reader. Yesterday, 29 January, was National Curmudgeons Day.  A day which the vast majority of humanity is blithely unaware.  That date was chosen since it is the birthday of good old W.C. Fields, who on stage, screen, and in real life was a genuine curmudgeon. Most curmudgeons would celebrate the day as they do everyday, by sneering, criticizing, and grumbling about many and varied aspects of life.  It would be oxymoronic of me to wish anyone a "Happy National Curmudgeons Day", since we lot are mostly an unhappy lot. Yes, indeed, Gentle Reader, I am proud to be a curmudgeon.  The world as it is today fills me with both fear, and loathing.  As an introvert, I do my best to avoid as much social interaction as possible.  I prefer the company of my two cats, and my books and media to any talk of sports, fashion, the weather and such.  As a conservative who loves tradition, I am not infected with the "Woke" virus, for which...

  The World Turned Upside Down One would have to be living as a hermit to have not heard or read about the civil unrest in Minneapolis.  Regrettably two protesters have lost their lives there, others injured, many inconvenienced due to the protests.  Whichever side you fall on in regards to the protests, I think we all need to pause, restrain emotions, and look at the facts.  As John Adams famously said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”.   Firstly, Ms. Good, and Mr. Pretti were the victims of shooting by law enforcement officers.  Both situations were avoidable and terribly unfortunate.  Both situations were different as well.  It’s easy to sit back and play the armchair judge & jury.  I will simply give my observations.  Both Good & Pretti could be alive and well today had they chosen to stay hom...

 Pater Contra Mundi I am a contrarian, not in the current usage within the stock exchanges, but in the older and more accurate sense.  I oppose and reject popular opinions and current practices, not simply because they are modern, but because they lack foundation, logic, decency, and morality.  I utterly loathe and despise wokism because it embodies that lethal combination due to it being based upon emotion and tribalism.  In essence it is pure Marxism, relativistic, and based on nothing more than desire for power over others. Have I lost friends and acquaintances due to my stance?  Yes, indeed.  While it is sad, I can honestly say that my life is not lacking due to their exit.  I will honestly admit, I did, in the recent past flirt with some progressive ideas, but in trying them, I found them wanting.  As a student and teacher of history, I can say I have the pattern recognition of where the path of wokism leads - to ruin and perdition. ...