The Fireside Post
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Feature Article #1

Three Wise Men and One Virgin

You can’t make this stuff up.  I have heard that before – but these guy made this stuff up:  Jay Leno said, “The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn’t for any religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.”  Sometimes the comedians [...]

| December 24th, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #2

Returning to the “Good Old Days” of Conservatives

We have to ask:  What exactly doe conservatives mean when they say things like ‘we need to return to the days of common sense’?  We found some old advertisements which may point to the more specific intentions. These advertisements came by way of an email.  You know the kind – blanket the world with propaganda [...]

| July 18th, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #3

Why We Continue to Support Our President

President Obama had a news conference last week.  He talked sincerely about the state of our economy.  We agree with him.  We believe that the partisan politics in Washington is as responsible for the down economy as any other given factor. We really do find ourselves in a chicken-and-egg scenario. Current budget projections are based [...]

| July 2nd, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #4

Military Priorities – Education, Health Care, and Golf

At this time of staggering budget crisis in America everyone and their brother is looking for cost savings.  Anyone who talks revenue increases confine themselves to taxing the top 2% income bracket.  But what about costs?  Clearly we need to establish some c0hesive priorities.  Why not look at some of the priorities of the Pentagon?  [...]

| June 28th, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #5

A Father Reflects on Father’s Day

Father’s Day.  A day for celebrating our fathers, and a day for fatherly reflection.  I am in the later category today.  I was not a particularly good father when my children were small – and that gives one pause for reflection. Young and foolish, temperamental and energetic, smart and dumb-as-nails, motivated and selfish, educated yet [...]

| June 19th, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #6

Everything Happens For A Reason

Have you ever heard anyone say, “Everything happens for a reason?”  I have.  And I just shake my head in wonder.  It seems that people need some assurance that someone or something is in control – if not themselves.  What do you suppose was the ‘reason’ for the shooting of Representative Giffords?  I surely do [...]

| June 9th, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #7

The Romantic Ideal – Flawed Thinking or Good Old Optimism?

The good guy gets the good girl – and conversely the good girl gets the good guy.  Bad guys always loose.  High moral standards, good character, hard work, and unwavering principles always find victory.  Bad governments do not endure while noble governments prevail.  The era of romantic literature has revisited modernity – with predictable disastrous [...]

| May 28th, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #8

NFL Dispute – Three Parties: Owners, Players, Public

The NFL Labor dispute is really aggravating.  Such a labor dispute might be none of our business – except we the public are heavily invested in the NFL.  There are times in our history when labor disputes have so directly impacted the public at large that our government has been forced to intervene.  Think of [...]

| May 24th, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #9

A Lax Regulatory Culture

Law, regulation, rules, structure, order, justice, fairness, equality – whatever we call the excretion of government – some of us will agree and some will not. From the Code of Hammurabi to the speed limits in Punkin Center, Missouri, rules have given structure and order to the culture of mankind.  Hammurabi, as noted in the [...]

| April 23rd, 2011 | Continued

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Feature Article #10

Birther Bullstuff, Obama, Trump

Donald Trump with Meridith Vieira – This episode is a tragedy of American Journalism. Vieira let Trump ramble around without challenge. NBC should step up, as a network that claims professional journalism, and correct this travesty of justice. It is a travesty because millions of people get their world view from the NBC Today Show [...]

| April 7th, 2011 | Continued

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About this Magazine

This magazine started as a conversation between a father and a son.  You will encounter some of that conversation as you look through the archives, but mostly you will find discourse about a great many subjects  that embracea  great many views about the world.  Take a look around, and see what happens when you dare [...]

Other Recent Articles

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Schizophrenia – A Family Affair

I am convinced that mental illness permeates my family.  There are no diagnosis – no testimonials of counselors or case workers.  There is fear.  Fear of venturing to ask any questions.  Fear of unknown possibilities.  Fear of helpless damnation. Families keep secrets because families are ashamed.  And that, my friends, is the problem. Ignorance abounds.  [...]

13Dec2011 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Cisco – A Tale of Addiction, Justice, and Redemption

People are dying.  Our Prisons are full. Families are being destroyed.  Government sponsored religion in the Criminal Justice System is not working. Federal, State, and Local funds are rewarding bad behavior.  We are talking about the Criminal Justice System sanctioned treatment programs for alcohol and drug addiction – substance abuse treatment. Cisco, A Tale of [...]

1Dec2011 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Traditional Conservatives – An Oxymoron

There was a time when to say someone was conservative was to say that they were invested in healthy tradition.  Change for the sake of change was a foolish notion.  In the world of the twenty-first century the conservatives have changed the meaning to something more like:  Progress for the sake of Progress is a [...]

5Nov2011 | | 1 comment | Continued
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Mormons – the beginning theology

Mitt Romney has refocused thought on the Mormon Church.  Some evangelicals have problems with the Mormons – and I think they should.  We have to consider the Mormons in a historical context to understand some of their faith positions.  I will attempt to address this topic from memory – we’ll see if I have to [...]

8Oct2011 | | 4 comments | Continued
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2011 – Dawn of the 21st Century

On  September 11, 2001, the rooster crowed.  A new age was upon us but the world was slow to awaken.  Stumbling in the early morning darkness we knocked over two countries, alienated our friends, and disrupted world commerce.  The people of the United States have finally wiped the sleep from their eyes and the Dawn [...]

11Sep2011 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Gun Lovers – This Guy Shot Himself

We have written before on the passion of gun lovers.  Personally, I enjoy some guns.  I teach gun safety to my grandsons.  We enjoy shooting clay pigeons, blue rock, skeet – whatever you call it.  We go to the local shooting range located just outside of town.  It is run by the Missouri State Conservation [...]

11Jul2011 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Crude Men Jokes

Sorry folks.  Sometimes things just strike me as funny.  Certainly I recognize that jokes can be offensive, can promote prejudice, can alienate others, and can frankly make some people very angry.  Racial and ethnic jokes have long gone by the wayside in the interest of political correctness.  I get it.  I understand the sensitivities of [...]

2Jul2011 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Bryan – 37

As it turns out, we spelled Bryan’s name correctly.   The majority of Brians in the world use an ‘i’ – some use a capital ‘I.’  We used a ‘y’ and it has come to symbolize the namesake. When Bryan was young, like three years old, I taught him some silly youth songs.  He sang with [...]

21Jun2011 | | 2 comments | Continued
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Dear Oprah – You Are Mistaken About Addiction

I wrote an email to Oprah.  Her address is oprah@oprah.net.  Some of the attachments from the email are included as Adobe pdf images following the text in this post.  The Cisco Synopsis follows. Dear Oprah, Your daily talk show has inspired many, including myself.  But I am troubled at something you said.  While interviewing Ralph [...]

14Jun2011 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Recommended Reading – for Adolescents and Young Adults

High School Literature Teachers are really fascinating people.  This past year I participated in a School District as an occasional Substitute Teacher.  The most memorable and pleasant days were invested in High School Literature classes, where I substituted about ten days.  These were memorable days because in every one of the classrooms there were perhaps [...]

10Jun2011 | | 0 comments | Continued
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Pride, Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense, and Sensibility

I have done Jane Austen a disservice.  The post was on Romantic Literature as a modern value system.  The post suggested that Jane Austen was very predictable – the good guy always gets the good girl, the fool marries the fool.  When I wrote that post I had finished Pride and Prejudice and was about [...]

9Jun2011 | | 2 comments | Continued
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