Author Archives: Bob Welbaum

Have We Forgotten Nonviolence?

Recently I came across an interview with Taylor Branch, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, biographer. Published in the January 2015 issue of “Smithsonian” magazine, it discusses Dr. King’s true legacy. Branch makes an important case: “Look at the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fall of the whole Soviet Union, begun with nonviolent demonstrations in a

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Our First Air Force

It is a fundamental principle of warfare: control the high ground and you have the advantage. Of course, the ultimate high ground is in the air. In the American Civil War, that meant balloons. Both the Union and Confederacy experimented with balloons, with the Union having more success, although “success” is a relative term in

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Facing Your Fears

In a previous post I mentioned aibohphobia as the fear of palindromes (and which itself is a palindrome).  Which leads to the question — how many things are there to be afraid of? Lots. My Webster’s New World College Dictionary  lists phobia as “an irrational, excessive, and persistent fear of some particular thing or situation”,

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What is a Buckeye?

A judge told this anecdote during a speech I heard a long time ago. He was about to sentence a young man, and asked him if he had anything to say. The young man replied, “Yes sir, are you a Buckeye?” No, the judge wasn’t, but the question was so unusual it piqued his curiosity.

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The Importance of Proofreading

This is a true story from a friend in the advertising business. He had designed a calendar for a client as a beginning-of-the-year promotion.  Each month was introduced with a wise saying.  One month’s saying was “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”   The following month’s was  “Well

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