Author Archives: Jim Wheeler

About Jim Wheeler

U. S. Naval Academy, BS, Engineering, 1959; Naval line officer and submariner, 1959 -1981, Commander, USN; The George Washington U., MSA, Management Eng.; Aerospace Engineer, 1981-1999; Resident Gadfly, 1999 - present. Political affiliation: Democratic.

‘The Day Democracy Died’

Posted on February 15, 2020

Originally posted on Pied Type:
This toe-tapping little ditty is brought to you by our Founding Fathers. Full lyrics are on YouTube. Someone put a lot of work into writing these lyrics and making the video, yet there’s no one…

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Past As Prologue

Posted on January 26, 2020

I recently came upon a 1949 review of George Orwell’s then-new dystopian novel, 1984 and was struck anew by its insight into human addiction to power. Power is intrinsic to the motivations of oligarchs, dictators and, I dare say, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics / Morality, Federal Government, Politics, War | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

VIOLENCE!

Posted on November 29, 2019

What does science have to say about man’s tendency to violence? That is the subject of the latest episode of PBS’s NOVA program. Surprisingly, someone has found a way to quantify episodes of violence throughout history by statistical analysis of … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Ethics / Morality, Politics | 5 Comments

ODD THOUGHTS

Posted on November 23, 2019

Odd thoughts go through my head: Woodrow Wilson’s enemy was the Kaiser Herbert Hoover’s enemy was economics FDR’s enemies were the axis powers HST’s enemy was communism Ike’s enemy was the USSR LBJ’s enemy was arrogance Nixon’s enemy was himself … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 417

Posted on November 15, 2019

Originally posted on A Frank Angle:
Embed from Getty Images ? Like much of the country, winter has arrived in Cincinnati earlier than normal – and with prolonged temperatures delivering new daily records. Brrrrrrrr …. James Brown, the Godfather of…

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Democrats

Posted on October 5, 2018

After stewing all week over the scene in Washington I decided to write an op-ed letter to send to our local newspaper, the Joplin Globe.  I don’t know if they will have room for it this Sunday, but anyhow, here … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 4 Comments

‘Batboy’ Jake a big hit at the ballpark

Posted on June 3, 2018

Originally posted on Pied Type:
Here’s a burst of sunshine for your weekend: Jake the Diamond Dog. No politics here, unless maybe you don’t like dogs. (I don’t trust people who don’t like dogs.) Come on now, everybody smile! I…

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