Speaker of the House John Boehner has announced his intention to resign. A week ago, I speculated on his future prospects — House Republicans on his right flank were making noises about unseating him, and might he need Democratic votes to save his Speakership? The possibility of his resignation, mid-term, didn’t even occur to me;Continue reading “The Resignation of Boehner”
Author Archives: Allyn
The Religious Bigotry of Ben Carson, Candidate
Let me state upfront that Ben Carson has disqualified himself to be the next president of the United States with his statement about how a Muslim cannot be president, a statement that prompted Ta-Nahesi Coates to label him a “bigot” in a piece for The Atlantic this morning. But I want to dig down intoContinue reading “The Religious Bigotry of Ben Carson, Candidate”
The Future of John Boehner
With a government shutdown looming — and potentially a debt ceiling showdown after that — John Boehner’s position as Speaker of the House may be on the line. A Republican Congressman from North Carolina has introduced a resolution to declare the Speaker’s chair vacant essentially as a warning to Boehner — “Cross us by ignoringContinue reading “The Future of John Boehner”
The Death of Christopher Marlowe
Yesterday at work, when writing catalog copy and assembling order forms and organizing name badges for the Retailer Summit, I listened to a several hours’ worth of BBC Radio dramas. Besides the first two episodes of “A Place of Greater Safety,” an adaptation of the novel about the French Revolution by Wolf Hall‘s Hilary Mantel,Continue reading “The Death of Christopher Marlowe”
Saturday Morning at the Post Office
I felt bad for the woman behind the counter at the Dallastown post office. I’d gone to the post office to buy stamps. One clerk was helping someone mail a package. The other was being berated by a man in a blue t-shirt for a Dallastown swim team. The situation, as I pieced together fromContinue reading “Saturday Morning at the Post Office”
Pictures of Percy
Wednesday night I went through some picture CDs in search of some particular photos. I found those, and there were also pictures of Percival, a cat I owned a decade ago. What follows, for no particular reason, are almost all of the pictures I have of Percy from 2005 and 2006. The calico never hadContinue reading “Pictures of Percy”
Scenes from a Vacation Day
On Thursday, I took a vacation day and went to Washington, DC. The Washington Nationals were having Pet Day — with a special ticket, you received a 2015 calendar of the Nationals players and their pets, you could participate in a pre-game petting zoo, and part of the cost of the ticket went to theContinue reading “Scenes from a Vacation Day”
Handwriting, Printing, and Technology
I can’t write in cursive. I don’t know how anymore. I can sign my name. For everything else, I print. In school, when teachers stopped caring about cursive, I stopped caring about cursive and went back to print. I’m not alone in this. Every so often I read an article online bemoaning the fact thatContinue reading “Handwriting, Printing, and Technology”
Feelings After a Tragedy
This morning I wrote a blog post. There had been an incident at the high school I graduated from on Tuesday — a student took his teacher and classmates hostage with a gun. The piece I wrote springboarded off of that, and it was equal parts annoyance, anguish, and anger. All I needed to addContinue reading “Feelings After a Tragedy”
Brainstorming Ideas for the Blog’s Design
I feel like redesigning my blog. This happens to me from time to time. Not as often now as it once did — I would change it up sometimes every weekend! — but I still feel the desire for a different look. The theme I’m using right now is Apostrophe, albeit with a child themeContinue reading “Brainstorming Ideas for the Blog’s Design”