The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Tim Walz Lies About Everything

Before we talk about Tim Walz’s latest “gaffe” (which is what the media call it when a Democrat gets caught lying) can we first talk about the underlying issue? Human reproduction is not complicated, and requires no medical assistance. Generations of our ancestors, stretching back to the dawn of history, successfully reproduced without any more […]

The Star Treatment

My wife and our youngest daughter, Reagan, returned from Argentina last night. Reagan said that after the plane landed, she removed her sweater and fixed her hair because she knew — from previous experience — that as soon as they emerged from the gate at baggage claim I would be snapping photos. “Paparazzi Dad” is […]

Will You Still Feed Me?

When I get older, losing my hair, Many years from now, Will you still be sending me a Valentine? Birthday greetings, bottle of wine? If I’d been out till quarter to three, Would you lock the door? Will you still need me? Will you still feed me, When I’m sixty-four? Turning 64 is an auspicious […]

How Am I Related to Pocahontas?

Having traced the ancestry of my paternal grandmother Perlonia McCain (née Bolt) all the way back to Rollo the Viking — seriously, that’s what the Internet says — my son Jefferson also took a look at the ancestry of my maternal grandfather, Hermit Eiland Kirby, whose father was William Thomas Kirby. His father, William Terry Kirby, […]

Music Cue: ‘Immigrant Song’

Genealogy is fun, although I’m not entirely sure that online sources are reliable. At any rate, my son Jefferson texted me today about some of the research I’d done. It seems his girlfriend’s family can trace their ancestry to William the Conqueror, and here I’d gotten no further back than the Revolutionary War. But I […]

Just a Random Grandbaby Video

Got some day-job stuff to keep me busy this morning, and I’m thinking about doing one of my long, long posts that might take all day (or longer) to write. Glenn Reynolds recently shared “Thoughts on the Population Implosion,” which is a social problem that my numerous offspring have been doing their share to solve. […]

Walrus Hunters Rescued in Canada

When my wife told me this story, which sounds like it was written by Jack London, I could scarcely believe it, but now I’ve seen the pictures and watched the video — screencap above — and can confirm that it actually happened. Three hunters from the Inuit village of Igloolik had gone out Saturday in […]

Eulogy for a Great Southern Lady

(My cousin Trish asked me to give a eulogy for my Aunt Pat Huber at the memorial service July 2 in Mableton, Georgia.) The Roman poet Ovid said, “If you want to be loved, be lovable.” And I think everyone who knew Pat Huber would agree that she was a very lovable person. She was […]

keep looking »