Cynicism about U.S. military involvement in Vietnam [FN1] ran high in the 1970s. [FN2] One of the first movies about U.S. military in Vietnam [FN3] was “Apocalypse Now.” In a memorable scene, a major, played by Robert Duvall, revels in an attack on a village for the surf: 1/10

“Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find…

In 2017, we challenged the validity of 2016's election for Pres/VP in two cases before SCOTUS. [FN1] I’d never encountered trolls and made the mistake of responding to a couple of posts from trolls. I wasted time, but learned, as shown yesterday. A “person” attacked me online. 1/4

I had replied to a news item from the IndyStar. The troll, in a short reply using a fake account and a pseudonym, tossed in some petty insults & hateful suggestions at my rather benign post. Here’s a…

One person’s irony [FN1] could be another’s hypocrisy [FN2] or, to someone else, pure bullshit. [FN3] Negatives around us today aren’t new, but they flared up, driven, like forced air from old bellows, by a militant embrace of ignorance-as-cudgel. In undergrad, during summers, 1/8

I worked construction. An “energy crisis” made ppl treat gas mileage seriously. During a break on a job site, a guy was defiant when he said, “I’ll always drive my gas guzzler.” He didn’t cite love of…

When I read that rumors were circulating that trump, who has not been seen “in public” since last Tuesday, is dead, I launched into action. We’ve had experience with this type of rumor. In 1967, rumors were about that Paul McCartney was dead. I looked for: 1/5

photographs of trump walking barefoot and out of step in a cross-walk with others (cover of “Abbey Road”). Nope.

cryptic badges or patches (e.g., “OPD” on “Sgt Pepper”). Huh-uh. 2/5

costumes worn that signify “death”…