tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.comments2023-01-29T17:07:22.133+00:00Catholic and ReformedJeremy Bonnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comBlogger180125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-37758093593204111442023-01-29T17:07:22.133+00:002023-01-29T17:07:22.133+00:00I wish it were only funny how history can be repea...I wish it were only funny how history can be repeated when some decide to simply look the other way or just turn limp. I'm one of those who believes that the change in administrations in DC had something to do with Putin beginning his charge, just as I'm convinced that Ukraine would be an intact country (though still somewhat corrupt internally) if Trump were still in office. I'm not trying to inject American politics into my argument, just pointing out that Biden is proving to be the weakest and most incompetent POTUS in my lifetime, worse even than Jimmy Carter.<br /><br />If we and our allies believe that Ukraine can hold Russia off in a war of attrition I think we could be very sadly mistaken in the end. I also believe that at some point Ukraine will have to be allowed to direct attacks inside of Russia to try and create some kind of wedge to try and isolate Russian troops already in Ukraine.<br /><br />Biden and our allies are not going to allow that anytime soon, and are not sending weapons capable of the longer ranges necessary for it. I believe Trump would allow that, without shame, on belief that appeases bullies almost never works, while punching them in the nose stands a much better chance of working.<br /><br />I have been writing to a lady in Odesa the last four months, and despite no concerted attacks on her city, she has power at home for only eight hours a day (two hours at a time, on a 24-hour rotation). She says her city is relatively safe, but air raid sirens do sound from time to time. She knows that Putin is assembling forces in Belarus, and even though reports are that fewer than 10,000 Russians are there; rumors that at least five times that many have been in Belarus for more than six months. She fears that if Putin can move as far as the Black Sea then Ukraine would be lost.<br /><br />I don't believe that we should send troops, even if Putin does invade from Belarus, but I believe, as Ronald Reagan did, that it is in US' best interests to help Ukrainians defend themselves. I wish I knew how this will all turn out, but do know that God is watching and will not abandon His people.<br /><br />I hope you and Jennifer are doing well.<br /><br />Alto en chamadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07099000363883633775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-88496447145214950742021-09-19T01:04:04.813+01:002021-09-19T01:04:04.813+01:00I am convinced that from his first day in office B...I am convinced that from his first day in office Biden had all the intelligence he needed to make informed decisions about how best to conduct the withdrawal. I'm also convinced that the generals, informed with that intelligence, gave Biden good advice on how to conduct the withdrawal. I'm even more convinced, given Biden's denials, obfuscation, blaming Trump, and now outright silence (not to mention the silence of the entirety of the Democrat Party) that the military's abandonment of Bagram -- and the viability of the American presence -- was the result of orders issued by Joe himself, orders the generals were obligated to follow without question.<br /><br />That the Taliban had reneged on the agreement it made with the Trump administration should have sent up red flags at the White House -- intelligence would have made it impossible to ignore. But ignore it all is exactly what Joe did, and now he's not human being enough to own it.<br /><br />Geoff PeckhamAlto en chamadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07099000363883633775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-45045607262134789882021-09-14T11:48:55.280+01:002021-09-14T11:48:55.280+01:00While I agree with much of what you say, I must co...While I agree with much of what you say, I must confess I still have reservations. <br /><br />Given that the withdrawal date proposed by the previous administration was even earlier than the date on which it actually occurred, it seems reasonable to assume that Pentagon planners must have had a contingency plan in place before Biden took office. It seems highly unlikely that either Donald Trump or Joe Biden concerned themselves with the details of the withdrawal; when facts on the ground change from day to day, much must be left to the best judgment of theatre commanders. <br /><br />I also question whether the Trump administration honestly believed that the Doha Agreement would - in the long-term (or even the short-term) - be observed as regards the Taliban's internal governance. Like Biden, Trump wanted an exit strategy. <br /><br />If the military had more time to plan under Biden than they would have done under Trump and matters still went awry, then the problem of failed military intelligence (in terms of the speed of the Taliban's advance) went far deeper than poor presidential judgment. Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-46561936667216037612021-09-13T20:00:04.482+01:002021-09-13T20:00:04.482+01:00Most of the criticism of Biden from the American r...Most of the criticism of Biden from the American right has not been about the withdrawal itself, but about how Biden managed it. Most I have spoken with about it agree that Biden had all the intelligence he needed to understand that the Taliban's intentions were to take over complete control of the Afghan government, not negotiate with the government for a paticipatory role as the agreement with the Trump administration specified. In addition, by the time he ordered Bagram evacuated on July 6 the Taliban had been on a march through the country, making progress and taking over province after province for about a month and a half, while the Afgan "military" simply folded and went home.<br /><br />Biden's problem was not that he didn't know what was going on in Afghanistan, it was that he didn't care. The logical course, realizing that the Taliban was interested only in complete control, which I have all confidence is what the Pentagon was telling him, was to evacuate American civilians (and other coalition nationalities, too) and Afghans who had helped the cause over the years who wanted to leave, all before the military was evacuated. In evacuating the military first he intentionally left American and other civilians and Afghani allies to fend for themselves, as the six or seven hundred GIs were never going to be enough to secure our embassy and the airport.<br /><br />What's even more bothersome is that Biden did all this without consulting with any coalition partners, which has led some longtime allies to question, for good reason, American resolve and fitness as a partner they can count on in the future. To wit, within two or three days of the fall of Kabul there was open condemnation of the Biden administration, and Biden himself, in the House of Commons and German parliament. I also remember hearing about similar talk in Canberra. The talk was all about these allies putting together coalitions of their own which will not include the US because they no longer see us as an ally they can count on.<br /><br />That our withdrawal would lead to an increasing presence of al Qaeda was understood, but now an especially rabid brand of ISIS has established itself, too. Knowing that there are still more than a hundred Americans and who knows how many thousands of Afghans who still want out I fear that too many will instead end up dead. Joe already has blood on his hands and the word around DC is that his presidency is in peril already; more innocent blood could well bring his house crashing down around him. He has no one but himself to blame for it and will not be honest with anyone about what all has happened.Alto en chamadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07099000363883633775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-72348446099602356692021-01-03T19:31:19.913+00:002021-01-03T19:31:19.913+00:00As a 'shielded' household (my mother recei...As a 'shielded' household (my mother received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine before Christmas and was to have received the second next week before the protocols were changed), we've been largely removed from events going on around us. With the new Covid strain out and about, it now seems to be a race between getting the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines deployed before the NHS cracks under the pressure. It may not be Spanish Flu, but should we reach a point where hospitals are unable to admit (less because of a lack of beds as a lack of staff) it will be difficult to make a case for 'reopening' the economy. For a while the Northeast was one of the hotspots but with the new variant the focus has switched back to London and the Southeast.<br /><br />As to Brexit, we're only three days into the new order, after the last minute trade deal (the details of which remain unclear), so how it will ultimately affect us remains to be seen. Hope for the best and prepare for something less good would seem to be most appropriate.Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-65304348982987697352021-01-03T18:50:04.108+00:002021-01-03T18:50:04.108+00:00No questions about mask-wearing here, but too many...No questions about mask-wearing here, but too many complaints about how the hysteria over the virus has allowed public officials to wreak so much other havoc on our lives. I don't own a business, so I've not been affected like a lot of people here in States, but I have seen effects that could be attributed only to hysteria. Rome burns anew.<br /><br />I would love to hear about how you have come to see things in Durham.<br /><br />In the meantime, do you expect to see any real changes brought about by Brexit? Or will the effects be mostly not felt in the UK?Alto en chamadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07099000363883633775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-59647078928678240222020-06-05T23:08:15.239+01:002020-06-05T23:08:15.239+01:00From Dominic Cummings himself not a word, but then...From Dominic Cummings himself not a word, but then I wasn't expecting one. Curiously we are contemporaries in age (he's a year younger) and were both educated in Durham (though not at the same school). <br /><br />From Dehenna Davison (Bishop Auckland) not a word either. Her two Tory colleagues, Richard Holden (North West Durham) and Paul Howell (Sedgefield) both acknowledged my communication while insisting that, following parliamentary custom, they could not advocate on behalf of a non-constituent. While this is technically true, my point was that they all represent ex-Labour voters who I'm sure took Boris Johnson's commitment to the masses over the classes seriously and the Cummings affair (particularly his refusal to acknowledge error) would seem to run counter to such a pledge. <br /><br />My own MP, Mary Foy, has expressed her dissatisfaction, but as a Labour MP she has no incentive not to do so.Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-42886800901857421212020-05-31T13:24:16.159+01:002020-05-31T13:24:16.159+01:00Only ten days on now, but any responses?Only ten days on now, but any responses?Alto en chamadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07099000363883633775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-40495386663285020972020-04-07T19:25:27.940+01:002020-04-07T19:25:27.940+01:00Thank you. We're hanging in there and, compare...Thank you. We're hanging in there and, compared with those serving on the NHS frontlines, our lot is a fortunate one.Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-60611790593789055022020-04-06T21:57:44.129+01:002020-04-06T21:57:44.129+01:00I hope you and Jennifer are doing well and keeping...I hope you and Jennifer are doing well and keeping safe and healthy.Alto en chamadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07099000363883633775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-78178629591787219852016-10-14T07:08:38.178+01:002016-10-14T07:08:38.178+01:00May we display your header on our new site directo...May we display your header on our new site directory? As it is now, the site title (linked back to your home page) is listed, and we think displaying the header will attract more attention. In any event, we hope you will come by and see what is going on at SiteHoundSniffs.com.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16349087080262856079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-22325399092953658112016-05-24T13:29:13.660+01:002016-05-24T13:29:13.660+01:00Wonderful! Gerald must be smiling down on us and m...Wonderful! Gerald must be smiling down on us and murmuring, "Well done!"Monicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13586250916156001063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-21981982836189287992015-10-23T13:38:51.581+01:002015-10-23T13:38:51.581+01:00Regretably not, and since +Michael did not - as fa...Regretably not, and since +Michael did not - as far as I could see - speak from a prepared script, I doubt that one exists. It is to be hoped that future lectures in this series will be recorded.Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-81745820634467606292015-10-23T13:27:44.306+01:002015-10-23T13:27:44.306+01:00Is there a link to a video or transcript?Is there a link to a video or transcript?CheifManyTyposnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-89164861286483277682014-08-04T02:06:53.064+01:002014-08-04T02:06:53.064+01:00Jeremy, thanks for your closely observed accounts ...Jeremy, thanks for your closely observed accounts of the SC and Quincy trials. Your reporting has the same care for detail and fair editing--nonetheless unencumbered by any misplaced notion equating responsible historical observation with colorless and humorless writing--which I enjoyed when you were our secretary on Trinity Cathedral's chapter. Best minutes in the history of Christendom! I thank God for you often.<br /><br />P+Paul+https://www.blogger.com/profile/01618567120293459878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-85154145388431154272014-07-26T14:48:25.896+01:002014-07-26T14:48:25.896+01:00You're up there in my legal pantheon.
Congrat...You're up there in my legal pantheon.<br /><br />Congratulations, Tad.Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-33635053971080106212014-07-26T03:56:55.960+01:002014-07-26T03:56:55.960+01:00I hope that you will always have fondness for Quin...I hope that you will always have fondness for Quincy and its chancellor. Tad Brenner Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-89273574225849190772014-07-22T14:45:20.648+01:002014-07-22T14:45:20.648+01:00I consider it the same response, made for the same...I consider it the same response, made for the same reason, as was made by all those African bishops consecrating bishops for the USA a few years ago, about which the Episcopal Church was so critical. Wish I'd known about it then!Philip Wainwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14445407488796250993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-48055016797975197132014-07-21T02:50:50.173+01:002014-07-21T02:50:50.173+01:00To be honest, this was a little tongue-in-cheek be...To be honest, this was a little tongue-in-cheek because the report was of course talking about Rome, not about about other varieties of Anglicanism. <br /><br />Did they act? Well Puerto Rico got a bishop, so I suppose you could consider that a response. <br /><br />Out in the Pacific, interestingly enough, Charles Brent adopted a deliberate policy of confining Episcopal missionary efforts to the pagan highlands and not interfering with Roman Catholics in the Philippines. He also refused to have anything to do with the comity agreement under which the remaining Protestant missionary groups divided up the islands into geographic denominational jurisdictions.Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-89514331285831159232014-07-18T14:17:03.220+01:002014-07-18T14:17:03.220+01:00Very interesting. Did the Episcopal Church act on ...Very interesting. Did the Episcopal Church act on the basis of the report?Philip Wainwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14445407488796250993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-60344523804389847232014-06-10T16:10:23.186+01:002014-06-10T16:10:23.186+01:00How true, Philip. How true.How true, Philip. How true.Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-22080791084875743292014-06-10T15:59:04.612+01:002014-06-10T15:59:04.612+01:00I imagine he would find it difficult to believe th...I imagine he would find it difficult to believe that every one of these evils has grown still worse in the 'peace' that followed that war and its completion in 1945: the intellect barren, emotions running riot, superstition abounding, charlatanry flourishing, wonder workers dominating even the church, and as for the wide-spread and serious confusion of morals... <br /><br />How I envy him that he had known a society where these things were aberrations!Philip Wainwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14445407488796250993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-47235830265048278222014-05-17T15:15:09.620+01:002014-05-17T15:15:09.620+01:00Hear, Hear! Hear, Hear! Jim Mossmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-68895855809882064662014-03-28T13:17:41.705+00:002014-03-28T13:17:41.705+00:00We miss you in Pittsburgh, Jeremy. You're a b...We miss you in Pittsburgh, Jeremy. You're a bright light!Ethanasiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14152694918931240750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35274730.post-48529438866915834512013-11-11T07:30:28.358+00:002013-11-11T07:30:28.358+00:00Bob,
Thank you for the memory, which I will pass ...Bob,<br /><br />Thank you for the memory, which I will pass on to the rest of the family. My father could always be relied upon to contribute something original. We miss him. Jeremy Bonnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915767119353670952noreply@blogger.com