The Other McCain

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

Our Patriotic Duty

That’s my son Jim, rigging the last fuse on our Fourth of July fireworks finale. We planned the show on very short notice — driving back from Georgia after attending my Aunt Pat’s memorial service Saturday — and were adding to the show as late as six o’clock Monday afternoon, when Jim sent me to […]

‘Light Fuse and Get Away’

Every year, the Fourth of July yields a certain number of tragic injuries caused by fireworks — or, to be more specific in most cases, injuries caused by idiots who disregard the warning labels on fireworks. The most common serious injuries nowadays seem to be caused by idiots mishandling mortars. If you aren’t familiar with […]

Fireworks: Trust the Experts!

Every year around Fourth of July, we hear the same thing from police and other public officials: “Consumer fireworks are dangerous! Leave fireworks to the professionals!” These lectures are always most strident where consumer fireworks are illegal. In New York City this year Comrade De Blasio, who can’t do anything right, created “a multi-agency task […]

Our Patriotic Duty

  Our fireworks stash (click on the image to see full size) for Saturday night’s celebration amounts to 35 cases, including two cases (192) of 5-inch canister shells and a case of two 500-gram, 200-shot Shogun Thriller cakes for the grand finale. My son Jim and I have spent the past week building finale boards […]

Why Does New York Hate Freedom?

  New Yorkers are not allowed to celebrate the Fourth of July: More than a dozen people were arrested in separate fireworks busts across New York City as part of a new crackdown. Two men in Staten Island were arrested on Tuesday as part of the crackdown. The FDNY posted pictures of the $6,000 worth […]

The Definition of ‘Execrable’

  The word originally meant, deserving of curses: Nikole Hannah-Jones, the lead writer for the New York Times’ “1619 Project,” caught backlash Sunday for telling people to “read” a conspiracy theory about the use of fireworks being an attack by the government “on Black and Brown communities.” Hannah-Jones’ “1619 Project” suggests America’s “true founding” was […]

$17.76

Whenever it comes time to, uh, celebrate shameless capitalism here, the suggested donation is $17.76, because we love America. Of course, our patriotic readers know what happened in 1776, and also know that this is why the Fourth of July is celebrated annually. Because we love America. And we love tradition. So our family has […]

The Family Business

My podcast partner (and former Kimberlin co-defendant) John Hoge is from an eminent Tennessee family, and some of his cousins are proprietors of Atomic Fireworks, headquartered in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, with retail locations in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Missouri. This company was founded in 1930 by L.W. Loyd, who in 1948 was one […]

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