Departures

Thank Space Ghost It's Friday!

"It's the weekend, Earthlings! Make it count!"

Respect

The death of Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia last Saturday provided an opportunity for setting aside partisan differences and showing proper respect to a man who led a consequential life, and served his country and its charter with distinction. His colleague Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as opposite from Scalia politically as it is possible to be, called him her "best buddy" and was heartbroken at the news of his death.

Justice Scalia's chair in the chamber where oral arguments are heard is draped in black crepe, to honor his memory.

Justice Scalia will lie in repose at the Supreme Court building today.
In a moving display, his former law clerks lined up to serve as honorary pallbearers as his flag- draped coffin was being carried up the steps of the courthouse.


Now contrast those signs of respect with President Obama's decision not to attend Scalia's funeral, which will be held in Washington. Despite frantic attempts by Obama's sycophants in the mainstream media to spin this as the President abiding by the family's wishes, all the evidence we have suggests that it was his choice, and a controversial one at that.

Whatever arguments are put forth to justify Obama's decision, none of them seemed to apply when Obama attended the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2013.

"Is this what progressives mean when they say they want a 'classless society'?"

Most likely, yes...

Requiescat in Pace

As happens far too often these days, it seems, I wasn't able to finish my first cup of coffee this morning before encountering the news that another prominent author has died. Nelle Harper Lee (who omitted her first name from her writings) passed away early this morning in her home town of Monroeville, Alabama. She was 89.

April 28, 1926 - February 19, 2016

Although I was never quite so taken with
To Kill a Mockingbird as many others were (and are), Lee's talents as a writer and storyteller are undeniable, and
I always considered it
a loss for American literature that she only wrote a single novel.


That view became controversial in 2015 when a so-called "sequel" was published. It was called Go Set a Watchman, and I share the opinion of many that its publication was a scandalous fraud. The book is simply an earlier draft of Mockingbird, and its publication is nothing more than a shameless attempt to squeeze a few more dollars out of Lee's reputation. All involved in this ugly bit of literary grave-robbing deserve all of the opprobrium we can heap on them.

Disappointing, But Not Surprising

From the forthright pen of Michael Ramirez, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

One of the main reasons I cherish the music of Ludwig van Beethoven so much is that regardless of what sort of mood I am in I can always find some composition of his that suits me perfectly. Today I am feeling somber and sad, but Beethoven is there to console me with the beauty of his art.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Opus 55 (also known as the "Eroica" symphony) was completed in 1804 and debuted in Vienna on April 7, 1805.

The symphony, considered the beginning of Beethoven's "middle period" as a composer, includes a funeral march ("Marcia Funebre") as its second movement.




That section of the symphony went on to become quite popular as a way to mourn the death of public figures, including Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy.

Today's send-off is a live performance of the march by the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, recorded on February 2, 1978. Enjoy...