The Curmudgeon in residence is John Holditch, a seventy year old lawyer, formerly a partner in a large law firm and a member of the American Bar Association, but for the past 30 years a sole practitioner and member of practically nothing, who for the past several years has been testing the assertion of a delightful, now deceased, former partner who maintained that the practice of law would be an utter joy were it not for the inconvenience of dealing with clients.
Having run off all but the most devoted of them, I have found that keeping a few is helpful in paying the rent, but in general their absence has left me free to ruminate about subjects as far afield from the law (I doubt that I am much fonder of lawyers than many of you, perhaps less so since I have to deal with them more often) as politics and current events, horse racing, and popular culture, all of which I find immensely more interesting.
As you will observe if you delve deeper into this website, those ruminations are often of a type (popularly denigrated as "politically incorrect") which would not win me much favor in the mainstream media or an invitation to return to my eastern college, or even my somewhat more conservative law school, assuming that I had a desire to return, which happily I do not.
I am blessed with a particularly forgiving family comprised of a delightful and tolerant wife, a married daughter, her husband and their two young daughters, a son recently married, his beautiful bride and their young son, and a paranoid, but entertaining, foster dog, all of whom are much kinder to me than I deserve.
By way of a guide to the site, it is my intention to be at least somewhat serious (you may not think so) about the pages entitled News Views, Horse Racing, and Popular Culture, and a little less so about the page entitled Bad Thoughts in which The Curmudgeon gives vent to the exasperations that afflict any crusty old dinosaur in an earnest and politically correct age. I will be changing the page postings from time to time, but on an indolent and irregular schedule. I hope you will check back occasionally, and that I don't run you off too soon.
What's new: "A Curmudgeon for Ron Paul," the first (or top) article on the News Views page;"They're Rioting in Africa, There's Strife in Iran" the second article on the News Views page; "What, Derby 138 Is Already Here?," the first article on the Horse Racing page; "Let a Snarl Be Your Umbrella," the first article on the Popular Culture page; "You've Come a Long Way, Baby," the first article on the Bad Thoughts page; "Making Symbolic Budget Cuts and Settling Scores," the second article on the Bad Thoughts page; and "Not Even a Beloved Old Eccentric Can Criticize Israel," the third article on the Bad Thoughts page.
Bark back at the Curmudgeon: Are you tired of reading all the Curmudgeon's outrageous views without having an opportunity to "bark" back? Or perhaps you just want to comment on a particular article you've read in Curmudgeon's Corner. Well, here's your chance: just e-mail the Curmudgeon at johnholditch@curmudgeonscorner.net (all one long, lower case word). If you sign your name and indicate your town and state, and reference the article, I'll post your comment in this space if you request it, and if it's not too long or profane. Or if you just want to tell me off in private, now you have the cyber address to do so!
Current (or not so current) Content:
One of the difficulties of maintaining a personal website such as Curmudgeon's Corner, particularly if you are as "Internet Challenged" as your Curmudgeon and do not have professional web-hosting, is that one tends to be limited by the "one size fits all" format of a standardized website design, not to mention the indolence of the site's author in not taking the time to learn how to create internal links, etc. Thus, sadly, there are no archives and once a piece such "A Death in the Family" eulogizing Belle, my son-in-law's late dog, is taken down, it is gone for good. Accordingly, I tend to leave articles or postings up longer than I should, particularly if I like them, as I do "The Dog in the Field" on the Popular Culture page. I also apologize for the fact that in order to reach, say, the twenty-first article on the News Views page,"A Word to the President and American Public from T. Jefferson" it is necessary to scroll down on that page through all of the higher positioned articles. So, without more ado or further apologies, here is what (and where) you can currently find posted on Curmudgeon's Corner:
A Curmudgeon for Ron Paul (January, 2012) the first article on News Views;
They're Rioting in Africa, There's Strife in Iran (January, 2011) the second article on News Views;
Crisis Management By Committee in the Gulf (June, 2010) the third article on News Views;
The Year of Living Timidly (January, 2010) the fourth article on News Views;
This Isn't About Healthcare (September, 2009) the fifth article on News Views;
Just Go, 'W,' and Goodbye (January, 2009) the sixth article on News Views;
The Business of America Is Finance (December, 2008) the seventh article on News Views;
There's Something About Sarah (September, 2008) the eighth article on News Views;
Still Dodging the Bullets (February, 2008) the eighth article on News Views;
G.O.P. Loses the House, the Senate, and its Conscience (November, 2006) the ninth article on News Views;
Democracy Is on the March in the Mideast (March, 2006) the tenth article on News Views;
Perverting the Logic and Lessons of Nuremberg (August, 2005) the eleventh article on News Views;
Winning the Hearts and Minds (June, 2005) the twelfth article on News Views;
Delusions of Grandeur -- Fanning the All-Consuming Flame of Freedom (January, 2005) the thirteenth article on News Views;
A Lawless Administration Reaps What It Has Sown (June, 2004), the fourteenth article on News Views;
This Is Not Your Father's Republican Party (originally posted in four segments: Foreign Policy, Limited Government and Fiscal Responsibility, Civil Liberties, and Basic Honesty and Ethics in September, October, December and February of 2003-2004) the fifteenth article on News Views;
Whose War? written by Patrick J. Buchanan and posted here with the gracious permission of The American Conservative (April, 2003) the sixteenth article on News Views;
It's Not Quite Goodbye to a Thoroughly Amoral Man (April, 2003) the seventeenth article on News Views;
Vigilantes Don't Ask Permission (March, 2003) the eighteenth article on News Views;
North Korea Calls the Bush Administration's Bluff (January, 2003) the nineteenth article on News Views;
Choking on Ariel Sharon’s Pastrami Sandwich (August, 2002) the twentieth article on News Views;
Black Holes, Cosmic and Domestic (September, 2002) the twenty-first article on News Views;
A Word to the President and American Public from T. Jefferson (June, 2002) the twenty-second article on News Views;
What, Derby 138 Is Already Here? (May, 2012) the first article on Horse Racing;
These Derby 137 Colts Are Consistent in One Thing -- They're All Slow (May, 2011) the second article on Horse Racing;
Zenyatta Puts Her Perfect Record on the Line One Last Time (November, 2010) the third article on Horse Racing;
Lookin at Lucky Wins Preakness and Saves Triple Crown (May, 2010) the fourth article on Horse Racing;
Maybe, Next Year (April, 2010) the fifth article on Horse Racing;
Lookin at Lucky's Wild Ride (April, 2010) the sixth article on Horse Racing;
Undefeated Except at the Ballot Box, Zenyatta Prepares to Take Her Perfect Record Back to the Track (March, 2010) the seventh article on Horse Racing;
And Then There Were Two (What's Left of Derby 135) (April, 2009) the eighth article on Horse Racing;
Improving on Near Perfection at Keeneland (November, 2006) the ninth article on Horse Racing;
Betting More Wisely But Enjoying It Less (May, 2006) the tenth article on Horse Racing;
Housebuster Dies in Virginia (May, 2005) the eleventh article on Horse Racing;
Sentiment and Redemption in Louisville (May, 2005) the twelfth article on Horse Racing;
Smarty, We Hardly Knew You (December, 2004) the thirteenth article on Horse Racing;
Why the "Wise-Guy" Horse Won't Win the Preakness (May, 2004) the fourteenth article on Horse Racing;
The Season to Say Goodbye (December, 2003) the fifteenth article on Horse Racing;
Seabiscuit, the Movie, Breaks from the Starting Gate (July, 2003) the sixteenth article on Horse Racing;
Milestones and Memories (July, 2003) the seventeenth article on Horse Racing;
There's No Joy in Mudville (June, 2003) the eighteenth article on Horse Racing;
Dance With the One Who Brought You (May, 2003) the nineteenth article on Horse Racing;
Sunday Silence's Death Casts a Poignant Shadow Over Racing's Holiday Season" (August, 2002) the twentieth article on Horse Racing;
Remembering The Drouller (May, 2002) the twenty-first article on Horse Racing;
When the "Mid-Summer Derby" Was for Horse of the Year -- Holy Bull's Travers Stakes" (September, 2002) the twenty-second article on Horse Racing;
A Breeders' Cup Without Eddie D (October, 2002) the twenty-third article on Horse Racing;
Let a Snarl Be Your Umbrella (January, 2012) the first article on Popular Culture;
It's Godzilla vs. Mothra in the Sordid Sex Bowl (December, 2010 the second article on Popular Culture;
The Ideological States of America (August, 2010) the third article on Popular Culture;
Tiger's Mea Culpa (February, 2010) the fourth article on Popular Culture;
You're Dating Yourself, Rachel (July, 2009) the fifth article on Popular Culture;
Buster Made It Home (November, 2008) the sixth article on Popular Culture;
Hillary Mines the Bigot Belt (May, 2008) the seventh article on Popular Culture;
Political Correctness Run Amok (May, 2007) the eighth article on Popular Culture;
"W" Pulls the Trigger (July, 2006) the ninth article on Popular Culture;
An Aerial View of New Orleans (September, 2005) the tenth article on Popular Culture;
The Culture of Fear (July, 2005) the eleventh article on Popular Culture;
Are You Ready ... for Some Football? (November, 2004) the twelfth article on Popular Culture;
The Passion, Fears of Anti-Semitism, and the Need to Dishonor a Father (February, 2004) the thirteenth article on Popular Culture;
A Goat in the Grandstands (October, 2003) the fourteenth article on Popular Culture;
Bible Thumpin' in the Black Belt (August 2003) the fifteenth article on Popular Culture;
Into the Volcano, to Assuage the God of Free Trade (August, 2003) the sixteenth article on Popular Culture;
A New, Prissy President at a Football Factory (May, 2003) the seventeenth article on Popular Culture;
The Dog in the Field (April, 2002) the eighteenth article on Popular Culture;
Is What’s Good for General Motors Really Still Good for the Country? (July, 2002) the nineteenth article on Popular Culture;
Have you hugged your local prosecutor today? (January, 2003) the twentieth article on Popular Culture;
You've Come a Long Way, Baby (January, 2012) the first article on Bad Thoughts;
Making Symbolic Budget Cuts and Settling Scores (February, 2011) the second article on Bad Thoughts;
Not Even a Beloved Old Eccentric Can Criticize Israel (June, 2010) the third article on Bad Thoughts;
Felix Frankfurter in a Skirt (May, 2010) the fourth article on Bad Thoughts;
CPAC Welcomes Back Their Favorite Free Spending Totalitarian (February, 2010) the fifth article on Bad Thoughts;
The Obama Administration Throws Nuremberg, Common Decency and International Law Under the Bus (April, 2009) the sixth article on Bad Thoughts;
A Good Thought About 'W' (December, 2008) the seventh article on Bad Thoughts;
From the Folks Who Brought You the Great Depression (September, 2008) the eighth article on Bad Thoughts;
Put Hillary on the Ticket -- John McCain's! (June, 2008) the ninth article on Bad Thoughts;
The Queen of Appalachia Reflects on the Summer of '68 (May, 2008) the tenth article on Bad Thoughts;
The Democrats Can't Do Nothing (June, 2007) the eleventh article on Bad Thoughts;
Nothing Could Be Done Because He Was the Mayor's Son (July, 2006) the twelfth article on Bad Thoughts;
Trashing the Truth-Teller (August, 2005) the thirteenth article on Bad Thoughts;
Why We Shouldn't Torture (June, 2005) the fourteenth article on Bad Thoughts;
The Time for Diplomacy Is ... When, Exactly? (April, 2005) the fifteenth article on Bad Thoughts;
Hey, Big Spender.... (February, 2005) the sixteenth article on Bad Thoughts;
Guarding the Fox House (October, 2004) the seventeenth article on Bad Thoughts;
Throwing Mom, and the First Amendment, into the Paddy Wagon (September, 2004) the eighteenth article on Bad Thoughts;
Born Again, Free From Sin, and From Self-Doubt (July, 2004) the nineteenth article on Bad Thoughts;
Marrying For Money (July, 2004) the twentieth article on Bad Thoughts;
Stop Me, Before I Nation-Build Again! (March, 2004) the twenty-first article on Bad Thoughts;
Who's Your Daddy? (January, 2004) the twenty-second article on Bad Thoughts;
Movin' on to Africa (July, 2003) the twenty-third article on Bad Thoughts;
"Rummy" Declares War on the U.S. Army (July, 2003) the twenty-fourth article on Bad Thoughts;
Barbarians at the Gates of Civilization (Updated and Corrected) (April and June, 2003) the twenty-fifth article on Bad Thoughts;
A Belated Happy New Year from the Curmudgeon (January, 2003) the twenty-sixth article on Bad Thoughts;
Incompetence at Home, Insanity Abroad (June, 2002) the twenty-seventh article on Bad Thoughts;
Almost the News... (August, 2002) the twenty-eighth article on Bad Thoughts;
Now why didn't we think of that...? (May, revised August, 2002) the twenty-ninth article on Bad Thoughts;
A Bad Idea Whose Time Has Come Again -- The International Criminal Court (July, 2002) the thirtieth article on Bad Thoughts;
Are you ready to rumble...? (September, 2002) the thirty-first article on Bad Thoughts;
At Home on the Range (War) (October, 2002) the thirty-second article on Bad Thoughts;
Maybe We Should Mess With Texas (February, 2003) the thirty-third article on Bad Thoughts;
If we've got any duct tape left.... (February, 2003) the thirty-fourth article on Bad Thoughts;
My Country, Right or Wrong (March, 2003) the thirty-fifth article on Bad Thoughts.
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