Weekend Links 11-24-17

A few articles of interest I found for your weekend perusal:

The recent news cycles have been dominated with stories about sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviors among elected officials, powerful individuals, and political candidates. Especially when it comes to politics the issue can present difficult choices to Christians. Marvin Olasky shares some valuable insight on the message our choices send to future generations.

These news stories have sparked a debate about the so-called Billy Graham rule. This discussion (on Twitter no less) is one of the most interesting and helpful discussions on the subject I have read.

One possible political solution to the problem of unqualified U. S. Senate candidates is a repeal of the 17th Amendment.

Stephen Mansfield helpfully explains why many evangelicals decided to vote for Donald Trump as President. 

Many conservatives who argued in favor of Trump's election used the Supreme Court as an argument for supporting him. David French warns of the dangers of obsessing over the Court.

Related: Senator Ben Sasse warned this week against the dangers of political idolatry.

Last week marked the premiere of the new film adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Here's a list of nine other novels for those who are new to her work.

Finally, a 97 year-old World War II veteran shares about his service as a code breaker during the war. It's fascinating stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving

In honor of Thanksgiving, one of the best holiday themed episodes of all time, WKRP in Cincinnati -
"Turkey's Away".

Best line - "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."


Added bonus from Mental Floss, the story behind this classic episode.

Favorite Eats - Sambo's Tavern - Leipsic, Delaware

Earlier this summer, my wife and I made not one but two road trips to Dover, Delaware. My work took me up to Delaware and rather that try to figure out how to manage flying somewhere close (you can't fly into Dover on commercial airlines) we drove - approximately 8 hours each way (when we didn't get stuck in traffic on the Capital Beltway around Washington).

It was our first serious venture into Delaware and provided us with one of the more unique dining experiences we have had in our travels. While we had other places that we enjoyed while we were there the one place that stood out (and warranted a return visit on our second trip) was Sambo's Tavern in Leipsic just outside of Dover.

First, a little background. When we travel we try to eat at local restaurants. Our rule of thumb is to eat where the locals eat. Most of the time we take our recommendations from TripAdvisor or Yelp but sometimes will also ask hotel staff (they usually know the best places to eat).

My wife did some research and found that Sambo's was one of the top rated places to eat in the area. Add to that the fact that it served seafood and was right on the water and we knew it was just the place for us. Our youngest daughter has severe allergies to seafood so we never have it at home.

From the looks of the place you wouldn't necessarily think that it would be a great place for seafood. If you look carefully at the picture on their Facebook page, you will see they are right on the inland waterway. We took it as an encouraging sign that fishing boats were docked right behind the restaurant when we made our initial pilgrimage.
We decided upon fresh steamed crabs for lunch. The only problem is that I knew nothing about how to crack crabs. Thankfully our server gave us lessons on how to manage it. It was a lot of fun and very tasty.

When we went back a few months later we shared crabcakes that were also wonderful. I can't remember I have had seafood that was so very fresh.

If you go, a couple of things to keep in mind. First, Sambo's is primarily a bar. They don't admit anyone under 21 (and it's clearly posted on the front door.).

Second, be sure to bring plenty of cash. They do not accept credit or debit cards.

If you're ever in the Dover area be sure to stop by Sambo's foe some of the best seafood you will every have.

For previous entries in this series, click here.

Back to Blogging

I was looking back through the archives and suddenly realized it had been over thirteen years since my very first post here on the blog. Hard to believe it has been that long.

Over the course of those thirteen years my writing has been infrequent at best and at some times a little unfocused. I have enough issues with just trying to write something without going back and critiquing things I have written in the past.

But I have also read in numerous places that if you want to become a better writer you need to write. Don't worry about how good or bad the end product might be. Just focus on writing.

I blame my addiction to Twitter in part for my hesitancy to continue writing. Twitter makes it much quicker and easier to share articles. Most of my tweets are articles from writers who are far more eloquent than I would ever hope to be.

Still, I am going to jump back in and start writing again. Things will be a bit different. Very little politics (I'm not as avid a follower of the news as I used to be - a story for another time). I don't write regular book reviews any more but may still share thoughts about things that I am reading. I'm still reading a lot of books these days and every once in a while may share something. I'm also still traveling a bit and may have things to share from those adventures as well.

Let's see what the future holds, shall we?