Darkness, Again

Mon cœur souffre pour Paris...

This is one of those mornings that makes me wonder if I have lived too long.

How many more times must this happen before the West decides to eradicate the threat?



If you need any further proof that the current occupant of the White House is a clueless progressive at best, and an anti-western radical at worst, watch this...

I doubt that the victims in Paris or Beirut, or their grieving countrymen, think ISIS is "contained," Mr. President.

I especially love the part where he says he has access to all of the best military and foreign policy minds in the country. Even if you accept his claim at face value (it is highly likely that no experts willing to challenge his worldview are part of his "brain trust"), it tells us nothing useful. For all we know, he routinely rejects the advice from those "best minds." Remember, this is the guy who always thinks he's the smartest one in the room, smarter than his advisers, certainly.

Today is a day for prayer, certainly, especially to the patron saints of Paris, and of France, including...

St. Genevieve at Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis

Saint Genevieve

Statue of St. Joan at Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier

Saint Joan of Arc

St. Denis at Notre-Dame de Paris

Saint Denis

My New Team

One of the consequences of the decision I reached on Monday is that I've been in the market for a new college football team for which to root. That search is over, for now, as I have become an ardent fan of the football team of the United States Military Academy at West Point (aka Army), thanks to this stirring moment...

I know. Well done, Cadets.

Until Next Time...

Relief sculpture of La Marseillaise on the Arc de Triomphe

The national anthem of France is "La Marseillaise," written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792 in response to a declaration of war between France and Austria, and adopted by the French First Republic in 1795.

In 1830, the composer Hector Berlioz produced an arrangement of the work for soprano, chorus, and orchestra. This arrangement is the most popular and commonly performed version of the piece.

I once used the Berlioz arrangement as the curtain call music for a production of Arthur Miller's Playing For Time.


On July 14, 2014 an event called Le Concert de Paris was held on the grounds of the Eiffel Tower. It featured some of France's most popular singers and musicians, and drew a crowd estimated at close to half a million people. Television ratings were phenomenal. The concert was such a success that plans were quickly made to make it an annual event. This year's edition was held on July 15.

Today's send-off is a performance of "La Marseillaise" recorded at the 2014 concert and featuring the various soloists who performed that night, along with the Radio France Chorus and the Orchestre National de France. Enjoy...and remember France in your prayers today...