Dec 16

Tell me it hasn't been a week and a half since my last post?  Where is this time going or, rather, coming and going?  What was the cry back several decades ago?  "Stop the world; I want to get off."

OK, this probably says more about me than anything or anyone, but......  Earlier this week, maybe Mon, two different radio stations were gushing, "Adele is coming!!!!!!"  Of course, I had no idea who "Adele" is.  But from the way the stations were fawning, I almost thought it was the second coming of Christ, only he had changed his name.  Now that I've been told she's a singer, I still have no idea what she sings.

A recent online poll suggested that only 43% of the people approve of the job Obama is doing.  I don't recall the number who disapprove.  But I was stunned, very surprised.  That many people think he's doing a good job?!?!?!  The word delusional comes to mind.  By the way, what faith can be put in such polls when the same one indicated that a bull 71% of the people think the US is headed in the wrong direction?  Wait...43% think the President is doing a good job, but 71% think were way off track??????

A few weeks ago another poll/report indicated that there's a "deep public distrust of the federal gov't."  Gee, ya think?  Where do you want to start, with the Democrats or the Republicans?  Can you say, "IRS," "NSA," and the list seems infinite.  But what do we expect when we have a government which is based on deception, dishonesty, and lies--little and big?  And we keep electing the same deceivers and liars.

And Trump stays at or near the top of the polls, too.  Again, I'm not at all a Trump guy.  Among other things, look at his track record, esp regarding the little guy, the little guy who might be in Trump's way.  But that's not the important thing, at least to me.  I hear the Establishment Republicans doing all they can to tear down the man.  He might need such a tearing down; I don't know.  But I am convinced that the Republican Establishment just doesn't get it, willfully or otherwise.  If the Republican Establishment throws another, well, Establishment candidate at voters, Hillary or whatever Democrat is running will win.  The Establishment doesn't seem to understand.  Are they so arrogant, so stuck on their own elite status/position, that they can't see?  I suspect so.  They still think they are much, much smarter than we are, despite all the stupidity coming out of them.

Speaking of arrogance, I was reminded of the great 18th Century Irish member of the British House of Commons, Edmund Burke.  Burke talked about a moral sense of superiority held by some people.  Now, I think, that moral sense of superiority can be found in the Republican Establishment, but even more so in the Democrats, particularly the liberal wing.  They can pontificate from on high, thanks to their moral superiority, without ever having to suffer the consequences of their deeds.  For instance, many of those in favor of more and more illegal immigration live in NY or DC or someplace not near the border with Mexico.  It's easy to stand tall for open immigration when it doesn't affect one's life or lifestyle.  I forget which candidate it was, but one of them said the borders would be shut tomorrow if the illegals coming over were doctors, lawyers, CEOs, etc.  How many of those calling for lesser prison sentences, early releases, etc., have ever been terrorized by a burglary of their own residences?  My wife, after we had been broken into years ago, would sit in her locked car in our driveway and wait until I arrived home before she'd enter the house.  That went on for months.  I know it's ridiculous, but capital punishment was not too far from my mind for those felons who caused such terror in my wife.  Does Obama know everyday folks like us?  It seems he's done everything in his life to try to avoid having to associate with the hoi polloi, except when it's necessary to get their votes.  He spouts off ideas that everyday people don't think, like "fundamentally transforming the United States."  At least I don't know many everyday people who were calling for that.  But, I guess they voted for him anyway.  (By the way, I'm still waiting for a single dime from any of those Obama and ObamaCare supporters to help be cover the more than $3000 premium increase we now have over the past couple of years.  And that doesn't include higher deductibles and co-pays.  I'll take cash or a check, but no credit cards.  That's what I thought......)

I heard an instructor the other day talking with a student about the Frankish king Clovis, oh, about a millennium and a half ago, not quite.  The student had the name on some review sheet, but couldn't find it in his textbook.  The instructor tried to explain.  Clovis was an important guy.  Who??????  He was one of the key folks in expanding the spread of Christianity--and not through theological means.  His wife had converted to Chris, but he remained a pagan.  That is, he remained a pagan until he found himself in the middle of a battle he and his troops were about the lose and lose badly.  What did he have to lose?  He began praying, the story goes, to his wife's God, the god of Chris.  And guess what?  Yep, the battle turned and he and his Frankish troops won a resounding victory. Clovis then converted, too, and, well since the king was now a Chris, what do you think many of his subjects did?  Yep, Christianity spread.  There are many examples of that, in Chris (Constantine and Theodosius come to mind) and in other religions, too.  Conversions by force or merely the weight of the ruler.

I don't remember if I ever brought this up; I just don't recall and I'm too lazy to go back and look at previous posts.  I wonder if there's a connection between tattoos, body piercing, and many of the, ahem, unusual names now given to babies.  Ah, it's probably my age showing again.

And here's a last little thing, or maybe not so little.  I've noticed over the years, I receive a lot of presents from my students, my college students.  Oh, they are all history-related and not very expensive.  Some are books or bundles of history magazines/journals.  I get tee shirts from when they have visited historical sites.  The other night I had a coin given to me that commemorated a history anniversary of a local site.  I really like, though, the chocolate covered cherries I got last week--so did Bopper!