Author Archives: Editor (Retired)

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About Editor (Retired)

Newsman, blogger, editor, writer (and no longer young).

Joe Biden and Paul Ryan — After the Vice Presidential Debate

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Here are my impressions from listening to, but not watching, tonight’s debate.

Congressman Paul Ryan is a well-informed, fact-filled young man, an expert on the Budget of the U.S.  His depth of experience is in the House of Representatives, with special expertise in budgeting. Mr. Ryan feels passionately about economics, debt, and numbers.

Vice President Joe Biden is an older man with a depth of experience in life, and nearly unparalleled experience in American politics and world affairs. Mr. Biden is passionate about people, particularly workers and soldiers.

Joe Biden may have appeared condescending to his younger challenger; Paul Ryan may have appeared to have a bit of a wise-guy attitude toward his more mature adversary. The two men — both Catholics — gave sincere and differing points of view on the abortion question.

Martha Raddatz is an outstanding debate moderator.

Which man, Paul Ryan or Joe Biden, or both, do you believe is prepared, if necessary, to assume the responsibility of commander-in-chief and president.

— John Hayden

J.K. Rowling’s “Casual Vacancy” Zooms to Top of Lists

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The book was published the last week of September, and already “The Casual Vacancy” has hit No. 1 on bestseller lists.

J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults is No. 1 on the New York Times lists for hardback fiction, combined fiction and nonfiction, and eBook fiction. The three “Fifty Shades of Grey” books have been pushed down to second, third and fourth places  on the lists.

Casual Vacancy also is listed first for in-store hardback sales at Barnes & Knoble. Surprisingly, the book is only No. 8 on B&N’s list for Nook eBooks.

On Amazon, Casual Vacancy is listed No. 3, behind something called “The Mark of Athena” by Rick Riordan, and “Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot,” by Bill O’Reilly.

On USA Today’s bestseller list, Casual Vacancy is No. 1. The book is also at the top of fiction bestseller lists in the United Kingdom.

— John Hayden

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“All is a miracle”

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The close-up photo of a child’s face and sparkling eyes — the perfect illustration for “All is a miracle.” — John

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Live & Learn's avatarLive & Learn

curious eyes of a child

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Source: Thank you artemisdreaming

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Universal Health Care

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UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE — Possible or impossible? It’s already happening, to a limited extent. Where I live, in a remote corner of Maryland, the hospital has been providing free flu-shot clinics on multiple dates and locations throughout the county, every fall for several years. Highly efficient, low-cost, preventive health care. Are you for it or against it?

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J.K. Rowling’s “Casual Vacancy,” Book Review, Take 1

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“The Casual Vacancy”  is instantly notorious because it’s J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults. It comes with a prominent black “X” on the cover, fair warning that between these covers you’ll find a subject that’s TABOO in America.

The subject is class warfare and classism. Ms. Rowling’s story takes place in England, and you have to remember that the British and Europeans are not as squeamish about class issues as we Americans. Until recently, we’ve been in full denial.

(If you’d like to read my preview of Casual Vacancy before you start the review, see J.K. Rowling’s “The Casual Vacancy — Prices Slashed.)

Ms. Rowling takes the micro approach to class warfare, focusing on the lives, relationships, and foibles of the individual men, women and children of one small town in England. The macro alternative would be a “God’s-eye view,” examining society from a distance. Rowling understands that you need to get up close and personal to understand classism and class warfare.

In the first 100 pages of Casual Vacancy, Rowling introduces an average of one new character every two pages.

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American Politics: Check Your Knife At The Door

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Here’s the shadow side of cable TV news:

“Where was Obama tonight? He should watch — well, not just ‘Hardball,’ Rachel [Maddow], he should watch you, he should watch the Reverend Al [Sharpton], he should watch Lawrence [O’Donnell], he would learn something about this debate. There’s a hot debate going on in this country. Do you know where it’s being held? Here on this network is where we’re having the debate. We have our knives out. We go after the people and the facts. What was he doing tonight? He went in there disarmed.”

That was Chris Matthews on the MSNBC post-game party after the Obama-Romney debate Wednesday night.    Continue reading →

After the First Debate

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AFTER THE FIRST DEBATE:   “Never mind.” The election goes down to the wire. Probably it will be close. The pundits on MSNBC were bitterly disappointed in President Obama’s performance. Mitt Romney took two weeks off to rest and prepare, and it paid off. He denied repeatedly that he’d cut taxes for the wealthy. He pounded the president  on investments in green energy. He accused the president of cutting Medicare funding. All Romney had to do was stand on the same stage and look like a plausible candidate. Mission accomplished.  — John

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Before the First Debate

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BEFORE THE FIRST DEBATE:  After tonight’s domestic-policy debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the outcome of the November election will be settled. That’s what I’m thinking. Romney’s ace has always been the economy,  but a growing consensus says things are improving. If Mr. Romney can’t find a way to break that mildly optimistic economic consensus tonight, he’s done.  — John

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“Casual Vacancy” Note No. 1

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“CASUAL VACANCY” NOTE NO. 1  I’ve read the first 97 pages of J.K. Rowling’s “Casual Vacancy.”  It’s going to be one heck of a story! More complicated than I expected. Many characters, introduced rapid-fire. I do believe Ms. Rowling is going to dissect contemporary social mores and put the whole bloody mess under a high-powered microscope. Probably not for the faint-hearted. I’ll start on the review as soon as my head stops spinning.  — John

“Freshly Pressed” Insider’s Report

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Being “Freshly Pressed” is the best thing that can happen to a blogger, short of going viral. (But it doesn’t put you in a class with Adrianna Huffington or Matt Drudge.) Human beings thrive on recognition and affirmation.

Freshly Pressed  focused my attention. It prompted some overdue housekeeping around the blog, clean-up and improvements that are hopefully invisible to the reader.

It also reminded me of the largeness of the digital world. One little blog is like a star in a galaxy, or sand on a beach. Though insignificant in the grand scheme of things, one blog can shine light in the darkness, or  — like a grain of sand — irritate the complacent and powerful.

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