Category Archives: Uncategorized

[Note: This is the prepared text for a sermonette given to United Church of God congregation in The Dalles, Oregon, on Sabbath, August 26, 2023, and to the United Church of God congregation in Portland, Oregon, on Sabbath, September 9, … Continue reading →

The Loom Of Time: Between Empire And Anarchy, From The Mediterranean To China, by Robert D. Kaplan If you remember where Robert Kaplan left off in the Revenge of Geography, he discussed the need to focus more on China and … Continue reading →

The Energy Of Slaves: Oil And The New Servitude, by Andrew Nikforuk This book is among the worst books I have ever read, and I do not say that lightly. What makes it such a terrible book is that it … Continue reading →

Historical Atlas Of Islam, by Malise Ruthven with Azim Nanaji While some aspects of this atlas may seem outdated, given that it was written in 2004 and misses a great deal of Muslim terrorism in the last 20 years, as … Continue reading →

Why Cities Lose, by Jonathan A. Rodden In reading this book, I not only was annoyed that this is the second book I have read recently which insults my native state for things that are not in fact bad things … Continue reading →

[Note: This sermonette was given to the United Church of God congregation in The Dalles on Sabbath, July 22, 2023.] One of the most poignant borders that exists in the world is one that you will not find on very … Continue reading →

One of the notable habits of a traveler is to make lists of one’s travels, to keep some chronicle or some record of it, and though my live journals of travel experiences have never proven to be particularly popular or … Continue reading →

The Causes Of The Civil War, by Joel M. Sipress When I started reading this book, I was concerned about the sort of book that this would be because of its focus on building the critical thinking ability of students … Continue reading →

[Note: The following message is the prepared text for a sermon message given to the United Church of God congregation in the Dalles on Sabbath, June 10, 2023.] I would like to see a show of hands, if you all … Continue reading →