Strengthen the things that remain.
Life feels oddly Cold War these days. Strangers stop you, squint suspiciously, and demand to see your papers. Except where people know me, I’m growing reluctant to shop these days.…
Paying in Chocolate Chips
My last batch of chocolate chip cookies were a disaster. These turned out much better.Some people pay their marvelous help in Euros and bitcoins. I hope to pay in these.…
Learning to act older
What scares me is that I’m slowly learning to act older. Walk to church, stopping in a favorite coffee shop to keep me awake during service. Afterwards, drop by a…
Facebook and Autocracy
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Yesterday, I challenged the widely-touted Congressional view that “misinformation” is the chief threat posed by the social media monster, Facebook. “Misinformation” is a blatant label for…
Throwing Stones.
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Having been banned from Facebook, I’m no fan of how they run their corner of the public square.That said, I was alert Facebook’s Congressional critics this…
Comfort food
After a tough day quarreling with technology, I was in real need of a comfort food dinner. That translates easily into a hamburger. After two years, I decide to try…
When noses grow
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Does Facebook profit from its algorhythms creating deep division? Facebook says they do not believe it is a primary cause of polarization -exec to CNN https://reut.rs/2ZXl9DT…
Black October
By Michael Patrick, PhD China growls like a prowling cat picking a fight. They know the timing is now with President Joe Biden wandering in a fog, and the U.S.…
Governing Germany, Ruling America
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. America’s two-party system remains deeply divided, culturally and politically. The lack of a base of commonly shared values has led us inexorably to a stalemate.Team Biden…
Deliberate Chaos
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. We saw the reckless, deliberate, and inexcusable chaos in Afghanistan. It’s even harder to watch when it unfolds along the Texas border, but drone images don’t…
Dr. Strangelove
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. America’s enemies see what’s happening; they don’t need a wild general secretly blurting his fears behind the president’s back to America’s adversaries like in some Dr.…
Segregated and Sanctioned
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Headline: Alabama Doctor Refuses to Treat Unvaccinated COVID Patients-Newsweek Brilliant and insightful remarks below byThe bloodiest trick of history is that subjugation and genocides are closer…
Help Us, Obewan 😎
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Watching the morning news, I feel like I’ve fallen into a dangerously surreal Star Wars movie. Not only in the prescribed unraveling of America, but across…
Remembering Barbara
Ethel and I hosted Barbara Olson and her husband Ted (not pictured) at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Spring, 2001. Barbara and Ethel become long-distance prayer friends. Barbara’s husband…
Pseudo-Leaders
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Pseudo-leaders: Officials who behave badly toward you and think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. “Patience growing thin,” Joe? It’s September 11th. How…
Autocracy Rising
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Since when did a little autocratic rule hurt anyone? Be careful what you wish for, America.
Command and Control.
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Well, look at that! I guess that settles THAT. All federal employees must be vaccinated. A chief executive orders something done so that should end any…
St. Jude Points
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Expats carry reputations, good and bad, as adventurous souls. Truthfully, we get by in tough situations by God’s graces and with a little help from our…
The Last Word
By Michael Patrick, Ph. D. Sometimes, you shouldn’t leave your job quietly. Things must be said for those not able to speak up. Funniest and best “goodbye” letter I’ve read…
What They Don’t Dare Say
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Similar to phenomenon now in highly-vaccinated Israel, 87 percent of Ireland is vaccinated, ywt it has the highest Covid rate in the European Union. Read and…
Shang Chi and Awkwafina
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Saw Marvel’s latest, Shang Chi, on opening night. Awkwafina really delivered one of the best Marvel foils, brilliant casting as the funny and very relatable girlfriend.…
Indivisible With Liberty?
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Tens if thousands of westerners are protesting weekly now in Canada, France, Australia, the United States, and other countries about vaccine passports and such to conduct…
Distorted Images
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Politics and politicians are often only the oddest caricatures of real people. We shouldn’t ever mistake them as a fair representative of the normal working class…
And the Winner is…..
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Watch how slowly the news media jumps up to identify the biggest winners in Uncle Joe Biden’s Afghanistan debacle. In the bigger picture, the outcomes are…
A Mindset of Defeat
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. America’s present leaders are such an odd bunch. For example, from this morning’s headlines: Word has it that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D.-Ca.) blocked the honorary reading…
The Tide
America has taken a treacherous path—one its people chose and one chosen for it. The church must look quickly to its own vitality, prepare, and intercede for the weak and…
Only Murders In The Building
I’ve been sulking since breakfast —a tinge homesick— that I can’t walk through Central Park and relish the leaves turning this season.I click online, expecting to find a dry well…
Backdrops
As a journalist, I enjoy watching people in their daily lives and places. They drift by almost without one noticing. Make yourself slow down on ordinary days and remember those…
Be Careful What You Ask For
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. America’s southern border was collapsed deliberately, and hundreds of Americans and close supporters are deliberately left behind in enemy hands.If this is what a majority of…
Mask or No Mask
By Michael Patrick, Ph.D. We argue, and fight, and call each other names. Do our masks really protect us? Jesus was challenged for his “unwashed” disciples, who did not obey…
Spies Afoot!
Last month, I injured a foot by standing around on hard concrete floors for two hours at a KGB facility. Suddenly, I’m getting flooded with ads for compression socks. Who…
“Open wide, Grandpa!”
Michael Patrick, Ph.D. How’s your sense of humor today? 😜No kidding, I’ve been reading and translating a lot of “wokester” this year, and I’ve deciphered that eating steaks, burgers, and…
“I’ve been instructed…”
Michael Patrick, Ph.D. Inspirational Leadership Word of the Day: “Instructed.” When American soldiers are blown up and many others killed, thousands more lives are at stake, Americans are left stranded,…
Rainy Days
How to deal with grading papers on a rainy day with no heat in the house. Escape to a coffee shop. Start with a chicken sandwich, a large cappuccino, light…
