TBT^4,294,967,296: Happy Birthday, America!

Today the United States celebrates its 248th birthday.  Things seem to be looking up from a year ago.  The Usurper Biden short-circuited during last week’s presidential debate, while President Trump came across as a restrained but effective pugilist.  As I told my neighbor, one of the two came across as presidential; it’s pretty clear which one.

Tucker Carlson’s ouster from Fox News has been a Godsend for open discourse and dialogue.  Not only did he interview Vladimir Putin—perhaps the most important interview of the century—he’s hosted dozens of guests from all across the political spectrum and from all over the world, many of whom would have been too spicy for Fox News to touch.

Across the pond, Nigel Farage is shaking up an otherwise dull parliamentary election with his revitalized Reform Party.

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.  It’s starting to feel a lot like 2016 again—and a lot like 1776.

With that, here is 6 July 2023’s “TBT^65,536: Happy Birthday, America!“:

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Memorable Monday: MLK Day 202[4]

I’m on my way back from a much-needed trip to the mountains, and I’m phoning this one in, folks.  It’s MLK Day here in the United States, which is like getting a bonus day of Christmas Break right after being off for however long it is.  It honestly feels a bit frivolous so soon after Christmas and New Year’s, but I’m sure it’s what the Reverend Doctor would have wanted.  He was, after all, a notorious libertine.

What would MLK have become had he lived?  My suspicion—a sad, jaded one—is that he would have gone the way of race hustlers since.  I do not think he was a race hustler, but I think he was starting to trend in that direction with his view on poverty, and for a man who clearly took advantage of his power to engage in some truly heinous sexual escapades, it’s not a big leap to assume he’d go full on Creflo Dollar eventually—or, more likely, full on Al Sharpton.  Yikes!

Regardless, his “dream” of a nation based on judgment of character and not skin color has not exactly come to fruition.  I mean, it did for about thirty years.  Ever heard of Lando Calrissian?  It seems like we had a good run from roughly 1980 until about 2010.  Now we’ve gone from trying to treat everyone as equals to privileging certain races over others.  Isn’t that what all those 1960s radicals fought so hard against?  Yet they’re the very ones celebrating the new apartheid.

Well, whatever.  I’m just a honkey enjoying a weekend in the mountains.

With that, here is January 2020’s “MLK Day 2020“:

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SubscribeStar Saturday: The Spirit of 1776, Three Years On

A very Happy Birthday to our dedicated senior correspondent, Audre Myers.  Have a great day, Audre!

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

It’s been three years since the New Epiphany Rising (the original Epiphany Rising was in 1400), when Americans protested the outcome of the 2020 election.  We’re now staring down another presidential election in just ten months.  Where are we now?

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Lazy Sunday CXXVI: Veterans Day Posts II

Yours portly has been run ragged lately.  It’s a bad sign when I’m unable to get Lazy Sunday posts written two weeks in a row.  We’re getting into the busy season for events at school, and setting up lighting and sound equipment with a broken ankle does not make it any easier (although I must note that I have had tons more help than usual with these tasks, and I have been blown away with the outpouring of charitable good cheer from my colleagues, administration, and fellow students).

I slept around twelve hours Friday night into Saturday morning, and apparently, it was exactly what I needed.  That doesn’t make for keeping up with a writing schedule, but it sure helped with my overall health.

But today’s post isn’t about yours portly.  It’s about remembering those who have served our nation in our armed forces.  Each year I reblog a Veterans Day post from 2018.  It might be one of the best public addresses I’ve ever given.

Here are all of the Veterans Day posts going back to 2018:

There you have it, folks.  Thanks to everyone who has served, and a huge thanks for those who have given their lives in the line of duty.  No mere blog post can do justice to the depth of your devotion.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Solemn Saturday: Veterans’ Day 2018, Commemoration of the Great War, and Poppies

In lieu of SubscribeStar Saturday, I’m taking today to observe Veterans’ Day with the annual reposting of “Veterans’ Day 2018, Commemoration of the Great War, and Poppies.”  What follows is a transcript of remarks I gave to the county Republican Party to which I belonged at the time (I have since moved to another county, and am no longer active in any county Republican Party):

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Lazy Sunday CXVIII: Monarchy

I’ve been on a British monarchy kick the past month thanks to the excellent biographies over at The People Profiles.  So, as we enjoy the very American Labor Day weekend, let’s also look back at some recent posts about monarchy.

God Save the King—and Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Monday Morning Movie Review: Oppenheimer (2023)

If Sound of Freedom (2023) is the must-see film of the year due to sheer moral imperative, Oppenheimer (2023) is simply the must-see film of the year due to its technical and artistic brilliance.  If means and availability allow, see it in IMAX.  The visuals and the sound are a massive part of this film, and feeling the sound of the first successful test of the atomic bomb really drives home the impact—and the implications—of this terrible new weapon.

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Lazy Sunday CCXIV: D.C., Part II

I finally slapped together the concluding installments of my Washington, D.C. Trip series, which may or may not make it into a future collection of travel essays.  Based on sales of Arizonan Sojourn, South Carolinian Dreams: And Other Adventures, I’m not exactly hot to rush out another collection of such essays, but we’ll see after I have my book signing (rescheduled so I could deliver the baccalaureate sermon, but the date is still TBD), which should increase the book’s profile a smidge.  I do, however, have an idea for my third book, and it’s going to be something completely different from either of the first two.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Lazy Sunday CCXIII: D.C., Part I

Back in March 2023 I chaperoned a particularly difficult group of students on a trip to Washington, D.C.  Some of the behavior and shenanigans I witnessed from other kids—and, sadly, even from my own students—was quite discouraging.  That aside, it was a good, albeit whirlwind, trip, and I’m in the process of finishing off the essays in this mini-saga.

With that said, here are the first three installments of the Washington, D.C. Trip series:

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

SubscribeStar Saturday: Washington, D.C. Trip Part VI: Arlington, Holocaust Museum, Home

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After a hairy night of elevator-related shenanigans, everyone was pretty ready to hit the road.  That said, we still had a long hike through Arlington National Cemetery, followed by a trip to the Holocaust Museum, before heading home to South Carolina.

Sadly, it appears I lost the photographs I took at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as the powerful World War II Memorial from the previous night.  It’s a shame, because it’s a humbling and breathtaking place.  The cemetery is massive, with graves everywhere; even so, it is running out of space.

We chanced upon the changing of the guard ceremony, where the guards stand vigil over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Our tour group was a bit late hiking up the hill to the Tomb, but our students managed to position themselves in such a way as to witness the guards perform the ceremony.

Even with our typically rambunctious group and dozens of other school groups, it was very quiet.  After two long days of trying to explain to them why these places were sacred, the awe and reverence of Arlington did more to quiet their ever-running mouths more than any of my self-righteous jeremiads ever could.

Following the quiet, contemplative morning at Arlington, we had a quick lunch at a mall food court, then headed to the Holocaust Museum—a sobering final coda to our trip.

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