HEAVY HANDED BISHOPS AND AMERICAN FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE

HEAVY HANDED BISHOPS AND AMERICAN FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE

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I had hoped that since we did not have a Catholic running for president this year we would be spared the ugliness of political tyranny by the Bishops in dictating to American Catholics which candidates to vote for as they so blatantly did during the Kerry vs Bush campaign. Saber rattling threats about denial of communion and what constituted a "good Catholic" influenced the outcome of political races. However, it  appears the “wafer war” has not disappeared. We have the example of registered Republican…

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SCOTTY RESTON OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

SCOTTY RESTON OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

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I've just finished John F. Stacks book on James Reston Scotty  which has some notable passages. Reston is quoted as referring to an editor as "charming, but with sharp elbows" and about another "his skin was a lot thinner than his skull." At a press conference with President Dwight Eisenhower he asked Ike about starting a "preventative war" against Russia. Ike said: "A preventive war, to my mind, is an impossibility today..How could you have one if one of the features…

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STORIES ABOUT THE U.S. OPEN

STORIES ABOUT THE U.S. OPEN

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Steve Rudman has written an interesting collection of facts about the U.S. Open in the sports section of the Seattle P.I. One involved the famous 1913 Open in which Francis Quimet, a twenty year old amateur beat the professional Harry Vardon. I’ve reported on the extraordinary book about this Open The Greatest Game Ever Played written by Mark Frost which describes that year’s Open. The book was later made into a movie by the same title in 2005. Rudman notes the…

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BIG OIL WINS AGAIN

BIG OIL WINS AGAIN

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The media reports that Senate Republicans blocked a  poposed windfall profit tax on the oil industry. The Bush administration and Republican Congress have had their way for eight years in protecting the oil industry while it continued to collect more and more profits. Sixty votes were needed to pass the bill and  only fifty one voted for it. Senator Mary Landrieu, Louisiana was the only Democrat to oppose the bill and she has ties to the oil industry in her…

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Books: Mad Ducks and Bears by Plimpton and A Thousand Days in Tuscany by De Blasi

Books: Mad Ducks and Bears by Plimpton and A Thousand Days in Tuscany by De Blasi

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I came across a book George Plimpton wrote some time ago Mad Ducks and Bears which I read on our trip. It discusses football with a lot of time devoted to Alex Karras and John Gordy stories. I’d always admired Karras as a player. It turns out Karras had been selected in high school as All State four times during his playing in Indiana. What’s even more remarkable was he was selected each year in a different position in football:…

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KIRK DOUGLAS’S BOOK LET’S FACE IT

KIRK DOUGLAS’S BOOK LET’S FACE IT

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I’m listening to a book on tape during my commute from our home in Gig Harbor to our office in Seattle. The actor Kirk Douglas has written nine books in his retirement and this one was written at age 90 years. The book Let’s Face It,  is, like his other books, enjoyable. One story I enjoyed was about his close friend, the late Bert Lancaster. The two were together at a dinner honoring Douglas. Lancaster noted that Douglas wasn’t eating…

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JOSE CONDE, ERNEST HEMMINGWAY & BULLFIGHTING

JOSE CONDE, ERNEST HEMMINGWAY & BULLFIGHTING

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I'm not a real fan of bullfighting because I can't get past the problem of the cruelty of the sport. However, ever since reading Ernest Hemmingway's 1932 book Death in the Afternoon I have been a huge fan of the courage, skill and art of the matador. My favorite quote from the book deals with timing and courage. Hemmingway writes about the concept of "Ver Llegar" or "to watch them come" which he describes as the ability to watch t…

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THE FINAL TRAVEL REPORT

THE FINAL TRAVEL REPORT

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We are home. We left London on a sunny afternoon. London is eight hours ahead of Seattle time so, we arrived on a overcast cold afternoon in Seattle, tired and jet lagged. I have piles of newspapers to thumb through (I’m afraid I might miss something important) lots of mail to read and accumulated bills to pay. There are also suitcases to unload and contents put away. Dirty clothes to be washed and unfinished business to be faced. Unfortunately, the computers…

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GREETINGS FROM BEAUTIFUL HONFLEUR, FRANCE

GREETINGS FROM BEAUTIFUL HONFLEUR, FRANCE

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Today is Sunday June 1st. This will be brief because on this French key board the A, W and M are all in different places then our key board so it is one finger typing for now. Our drive from Paris was pleasant with Alan who lives near here and speaks very good English. The hotel is a very old farm remodeled into a hotel outside of town. We ate in the hotel last night: The food is very good…

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