Ronald E. Yates's Blog, page 34
July 7, 2022
A Few Meditations on Writing
I have been writing, in one form or another, for most of my life. I learned the techniques and skills of writing by toiling for almost 30 years in the relentless and stressful world of journalism. I was in some pretty good company. Ernest Hemingway began his writing career as ...
July 6, 2022
Top 100 U.S. Brands: “Woke” Firms Least Popular
Top 100 U.S. Brands: “Woke” Firms Least Popular Does it pay for American corporations to “go woke?” Apparently not, according to a 2022 Axios Harris Poll 100. In a survey of 33,096 Americans representing the entire political spectrum, companies that do not get involved in woke politics do much better ...
July 5, 2022
Post-Racial Independence Day
The following commentary is from one of my co-contributors to the American Free News Network–a website that does not censor, edit, or discourage opinions from anybody. What a concept in today’s heavily censored social media universe. The author makes so much sense that even the most fanatical America-hating socialist would ...
July 2, 2022
An Ominous Fourth of July
I love the Fourth of July, but this will be the first Independence Day in my life that will leave me disheartened and sad. In the past, this was a day to celebrate. After all, it was the day this country declared its liberation from the British Empire and embarked ...
June 29, 2022
The Height of Hypocrisy
I received the following commentary from a person who apparently wishes to remain anonymous—and for good reason given the ill-advised and treacherous “cancel culture” that exists in America today. The writer points to the hypocrisy of the media and those on the left who are quick to condemn thousands of ...
June 28, 2022
A Letter to the Superintendent of West Point
I am regrettably aware of how the cult of “wokeness” has impacted America’s military branches—the Army, Navy (including the Marines), Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force. As a veteran of the U.S. Army, I have watched those in command enforce socialist indoctrination of officers and enlisted personnel to the ...
June 27, 2022
Our Elite Universities: Middle Class White Students Need Not Apply
After spending 13 years as a professor and dean at a Big Ten university, I know a little of what Daniel Schmidt speaks. I witnessed similar phenomena on my campus—things like reverse racism, discrimination against (especially) white male students, the advent of “safe spaces,” and the curtailing of free speech ...
June 26, 2022
“We Will Bury You!” Was Nikita Khrushchev Right?
Nikita Khrushchev is usually remembered as the combative premier of the Soviet Union during the days of Sputnik and the Cold War. He’s also the Soviet leader who went toe to toe with John F. Kennedy during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. But Khrushchev is also remembered for four words ...
June 23, 2022
A Little Inflation Therapy: Read a Good Book. Here are the 100 Greatest Books of All Time
Okay, inflation is killing us. Gas here in California is $6 and $7 a gallon, the shelves of the local Walmart and grocery stores are still half-empty, and the sidewalks of our cities are swathed with homeless tents and commanded by smash-and-grab thieves and vicious lowlifes. Meanwhile, our bumbling, mumbling, ...
June 19, 2022
Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?
With baseball season in full swing and some teams, like my Kansas City Royals foundering, the conversation, as it often does, comes around to the greatest baseball players of all time. Discussions like that are exasperating and always incomplete—especially when the discussants represent multiple generations. Evaluating baseball players from different ...
