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.

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 | 3 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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Heroes and Cowards

Posted on February 28, 2018

As yet I have read nothing but scorn and condemnation for Florida deputy Scot Peterson, leading me to wonder whether there is any middle ground between hero and coward in his case. An early account mentioned that he had a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Uncomfortable Truth

Posted on October 28, 2017

Thanks to a marvelous post by Duane Graham recently, a small group of subscribers had a very interesting discussion on the concept of free will.  Whether such a thing actually exists will probably never be proven, but the politics of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments