Do you recall who said, “Well, all I know is what I read in the newspapers”?

Well, Bunkie, it was Will Rogers, as quoted in The New York Times, September 30, 1923 (according to sources).

What became Rogers’ trademark quip has become famous, probably because of its simplicity and because millions of Americans could say the same, particularly in the 20th century before television news — as a poor journalistic cousin — became a main source of news and information. Continue reading →

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, it is morally treasonable to the American Public.”
–Teddy Roosevelt

Lots of thoughtful commentators and analysts have heeded TR’s pronouncement, particularly since mid-2002. Those commentators and analysts have been far from servile — have, according to TR’s lights, been patriotic and far removed from committing moral treason, have not stood by the president when he’s been wrong. Continue reading →

Do friendly bakers still give customers a baker’s dozen — when you order 12 of something, do the doughboys or doughgirls still give you 13?

Probably some do, some don’t. But the friendly Green Dog is providing a baker’s dozen of something here, Bunkie.  Following are 13 quotations that when uttered or written had nothing to do with the internationally critical situation occurring now in Israel/Gaza.  Conversely, because of their sentiments, the quotations have everything to do with what’s been going on between the Israelis and Palestinians, now and for the past 60-plus years.

Read the quotations and see if you might agree… Continue reading →

Trivia quickie: What do the Elvis Presley movie, “G.I. Blues,” and the classic Disney animated feature, “Pinocchio,” have in common?

You got it, Bunkie.  Puppets — on strings, which makes them marionettes. In the 1960 movie starring Elvis, in which he played a G.I. stationed in post-war Germany and made right after he got out of the for-real U.S. Army, there’s a sequence of Elvis on a date with his German girlfriend.  They stroll by a marionette show where he woos her with the song “Wooden Heart.”  Continue reading →

Did you read or hear recent news reports that the Iraqi television newsman who heaved his shoes at George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad on December 14 is scheduled to go to trial on December 31, charged with assaulting a foreign leader?

Yep. A spokesman for the Iraqi Higher Judicial Court said that a conviction would carry a sentence of up to two years in prison for Muntadhar al-Zeidi. Apparently neither Bush nor the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, who was standing beside Bush when the now-famous factious flinging of footwear occurred, have sought charges against al-Zeidi.  But the judicial official who investigated the incident said there was no legal option to drop the case. Continue reading →