Ted Block

First there was “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.” Now there’s “Around the Block’s Unfamiliar Quotations.”

Commentary Quotation reporting for the modern media age. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the book, “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.” Written by James Bartlett, “Bartlett’s” was first published in 1855 and currently is in its nineteenth edition.* *(Note for Florida readers – I’m not sure if “Bartlett’s” has been subjected to the DeSantis “woke”Continue reading “First there was “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations.” Now there’s “Around the Block’s Unfamiliar Quotations.””

Jackie Robinson’s Second Job

Commentary/Nostalgia By day, he played second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. By night, he sold televisions in Queens. I thought I’d take a break from my typical current events focussed commentary to reprint an article originally published in The New Yorker magazine on January 7, 1950 with the original headline “Success.” In an era before multi-yearContinue reading “Jackie Robinson’s Second Job”

How much damage can one man do in four years?

Commentary And, is is possible that one man, Donald J. Trump, can and will do even more? In these fraught and dangerous times, I often think back to the 2012 presidential election. You remember Barack Obama running for a second term was challenged by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Make no mistake, I had funContinue reading “How much damage can one man do in four years?”

There’s a Constitutional Amendment that’s getting more discussion than the two most talked about.

Commentary Put the First and Second Amendments on the back burner. The big story is the 14th Amendment and, particularly, Section 3 First, some background. The Constitution of the United States has 27 amendments. The first ten amendments were adopted (September 25, 1789) and ratified (December 15, 1791) simultaneously and are known collectively as theContinue reading “There’s a Constitutional Amendment that’s getting more discussion than the two most talked about.”

“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party.”

Commentary When it comes to the Republican party, that aid can’t come too soon! That is, if there are any good men…or women…left in the GOP. “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party” is a phase, originally designed as a touch-typing drill. I typically write itContinue reading ““Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party.””

“Teddy, you got some ‘splaining to do!”

Commentary It’s been quite some time between Around the Block posts; let me try to ‘splain why. You haven’t seen an Around the Block story in a while. Since I couldn’t remember how long it’s been, I looked back at my archive. YIKES! I last wrote a column almost two months ago, June 20th toContinue reading ““Teddy, you got some ‘splaining to do!””

I’m too busy to go through so many tax documents, in so many boxes, in so many places – so I’m not filing my tax returns.

News with a Twist/Satire As Around the Block channels Donald Trump, I assert, “I don’t intend to file until the IRS asks, Please, please, please.” As I’ve done for the last few years, I didn’t file my 2022 taxes this April. Similar to previous years, I was simply too busy to collect all the informationContinue reading “I’m too busy to go through so many tax documents, in so many boxes, in so many places – so I’m not filing my tax returns.”

GOP contenders play the “Name Game”

Commentary DeSantis and Pence show their true colors by playing the game’s first round with the name “Bragg.” In appearances this past Friday at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention, former Vice-President Mike Pence and current Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (pronounced duh-Sanits or dee-Santis depending on the audience and the day of the week), bothContinue reading “GOP contenders play the “Name Game””

“I don’t want to live in a country where Trump could be held accountable”

News with a Twist I haven’t posted in a while – three weeks, actually. Why? I’ve thought about some possible reasons: Too much going on making it difficult to choose a topic? Current events ennui? Disgust with the state of America, the state of the world? Writer’s block? My silence could be attributed to anyContinue reading ““I don’t want to live in a country where Trump could be held accountable””

Banned books/unbanned video games

Commentary If Hamlet was alive today would he say, ‘Something is rotten in the state of America?’ The Los Angeles Times published a list today, “The 15 most banned books in America this school year.” (Since many readers may not be able to access the link to the Times’ story, I’ve also included a PDFContinue reading “Banned books/unbanned video games”