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Author Archives: smellincoffee
Communion
When J.D. Vance’s formidable grandmother died, his connection to Christianity went with it. Although he’d been raised going to church with her on occasion, the faith had never become internalized; as he deployed to Iraq, he was moving further and … Continue reading
John F. Kennedy
Despite only serving most of two years, JFK has loomed large in the memories of Americans, and his brutal assassination has much to do with that. His presidency was potential cut short; hope, aborted. In John F. Kennedy, Brinkley writes: … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews
Tagged 1960s, biography, Cold war, Hail to the Chief, history, JFK
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Thirteen Days
The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest time the Cold War came to turning into a hot war, and (presumably) a global holocaust. RFK served the President most immediately not as his attorney general, but his confidant and advisor. Thirteen … Continue reading
The Unfinished Odyssey of Robert F. Kennedy
David Halberstam was already a seasoned reporter when he began covering RFK’s fatal 1968 bid for the presidency. The bid itself was almost dead on arrival; RFK dragged his feet on deciding, and continually probed those around him as to … Continue reading
Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews
Tagged 1960s, David halberstam, history, Politics-CivicInterest, RFK
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Bad Blood
When LBJ mentioned that Joe Kennedy’s son Robert would be excellent at leading something like NASA, RFK recorded this in his diary. The master of the Senate thought he had potential! Only a few years later, however, RFK and LBJ … Continue reading
Posted in history, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews
Tagged 1950s, 1960s, Hail to the Chief, history, Jeffrey K Smith, JFK, LBJ, Politics-CivicInterest, RFK, Vietnam
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WWW Wednesdays and High School Reunions
Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “Have You Ever Attended Your High School Reunion? Why or why not?” Well…no. I graduated in 2003: by 2013 we were all facebook friends. My high school class didn’t even talk about … Continue reading
1960: The Election that Forged Three Presidencies
As the Eisenhower administration began drawing to a close and a new decade loomed, America had a choice: stay the course, or shake things up? Although JFK would claim in his 1961 inaugural that the torch had been passed to … Continue reading
Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews
Tagged 1950s, 1960s, David Pietrusza, Hail to the Chief, history, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, politics, RFK
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Kennedy and Nixon
President Richard Nixon was a sweetie-pie who wrote letters so tender to Jackie Kennedy she cried, and she wrote him gracious letters back. The idea of Nixon being sweet and caring does not sit easily with modern readers, but that … Continue reading
Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews
Tagged 1950s, 1960s, Hail to the Chief, history, JFK, Nixon, Politics-CivicInterest
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WWW Wednesday + Know Before You Go
Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “Something to know before visiting my country or city”. Well, for starters, don’t come between May and October because most of the year we endure the Great Sticky Siege. As regards Selma … Continue reading
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