Opinions, Commentaries and Editorials by Wayne Engle
ROCKABILLY! It was the transition American popular music, between rhythm ‘n’ blues, country and western, and the melding of the two into the rock ‘n’ roll of the 1950s. Its heyday didn’t last a long time — but at its…
It’s one year since Michael Brown got himself killed (by being extremely stupid) in Ferguson, Missouri, and of course the black agitators in that city used that anniversary as an excuse to mount more riotous “protests” about the incident. “Black…
OK: Do you think King Louis XIV could defeat Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president in the 2016 election campaign? Too bad the Sun King is otherwise occupied (he’s been dead now for 300 years). He and Trump…
He was first “The Oklahoma Yodeling Cowboy;” then simply, “The Singing Cowboy.” And later, “America’s Favorite Cowboy.” And finally, just “The Cowboy.” His theme song, “Back in the Saddle Again,” was probably the best known one of any of those…
Now that the Charleston, South Carolina, church massacre is two weeks in the past, along with the wailing, gnashing of teeth, and making lists of what things should be “banned” because of it, let’s step back and take a calmer…
Whither goest thou, Madison, Indiana, my hometown? You were the biggest city in Indiana in the 1850s; you were the pork-packing capital of the world. The most-decorated American veteran of World War I was born near here, and lived here…
Anyone nowadays who knows who Ty Cobb was, knows that he was eternally angry, periodically drunk, a viciously dirty baserunner who deliberately spiked infielders at every opportunity; and — here’s the REALLY REVOLTING part: He was a “racist”! Oh, horrors!…
Michelle Obama, the nation’s First Lady, who by that fact should be the most respected woman in America, has given us yet another reason why she is viewed by many of us as just another angry, resentful, loud-mouthed black woman.…
The other day I heard an old gospel song that was totally new to me. It was called “Gone Home.” It got my mind and memory to working — because it’s about those we loved and cherished, who have died…
OK, all you Hoosier haters out there! No, I don’t mean US Hoosiers, who have been the target of unlimited, unfair and vicious attacks over the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which kicked up a major kerfuffle on the political Left.…
Did ye ever hear the one about the Irishman, Paddy, who was taking an ocean cruise, be dad? While they was down in the South Pacific, the ship sprung a big leak and sank, with the passengers pilin’ into the…
Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of the State of Israel, received the welcome of a conquering hero when he addressed the U.S. Congress Tuesday. And, in my opinion, he richly deserved it. Netanyahu spoke to a packed House chamber, and the…
The fat guy and the thin guy. “The boys.” Stan and Ollie. L & H. They were tagged with a number of nicknames over the years, were Arthur Stanley Jefferson and Norvell Hardy, their original names. But those still living…
Everybody who likes paying taxes, yell, “Two bits, four bits, six bits a dollar, all for big government, stand up and holler!” That’s funny; I don’t hear anybody. OK, we’re all pretty much agreed: Nobody likes having to cough up…
Another Muslim massacre, another round of “expressions of outrage” about the latest raghead murders, these of (unarmed) journalists who had had the unforgivable gall to poke fun at the Muslims’ humorless and rigid views about their prophet Mohammed, and their…
Christmas is coming! Less than two weeks away, and the usual hustle, bustle, and turmoil is hard upon us! What would we do; what would the WORLD do, without Christmas? It’s the piece de resistance of all holidays, the best…
Well, I presume all the young American leftists are puffed up and proud of themselves, now that for the umpteenth time in the last 50 years they’ve marched, chanted, “died in” (we could only hope, couldn’t we?) over the decisions…
Thanksgiving is approaching — and the turkeys are nervous! Sorry. I just couldn’t resist that. Sort of grabbed your attention, didn’t it? Wonder what the turkeys are feeling thankful for right now? OK; I’ll get serious. Because after all, Thanksgiving IS…
When ghosts and goblins by the score, Ring the bell on your front door — And your little white house, turns GREEN! — From gheelies and ghosties, And long-legged beasties, And things that go “Bump” in the night, Deliver us,…
He was as well known as almost any American of his day. From the early 1880s, until his death in 1916, he was a much-sought public speaker, reading his poetry before many thousands of what would be called “fans” nowadays.…
“I wish we could throw them all out and start over!” How many times in recent months have you said that yourself? Or heard your neighbor say it? Or your brother-in-law? Or a commentator on TV? Yes, our disgust with…
Here’s a riddle for you: When is a county, NOT a county? When it’s in Louisiana, of course! In the home of New Orleans jazz, jambalaya and the Cajun people, they’re called “parishes” —- possibly traceable to the state’s deep…
It’s now two weeks since Michael Brown, all 6-4 and 292 pounds of him, was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, and the race hustlers are still milking the incident for all it’s worth. Protests, riots,…
“A funny thing happened on my way to Florida …” “I just flew back from Melbourne, and boy, are my arms tired! …” “Look before you leap — especially if the leap will cost you a heap! …” OK, all…
President of the United States Barack Hussein Obama should be impeached by the House of Representatives, convicted by the United States Senate, and removed from office. Pretty bald statement, you say? Well, can you give me any good reasons why…
There aren’t too many people still living who knew Tony and Rubye Engle. He’s been gone 30 years; she, 44. Yes, they were my folks. They were the two most important people in my life, and they didn’t have…
It’s now two weeks since the Madison Consolidated Schools district voted down a proposed $69 million school construction project, by a margin of nearly 4-1. All of us who live here know why it sank without a trace: It was…
Cliven Bundy, who was being hailed as a courageous hero for his stand against a federal power grab of his cattle in Nevada, made what passes nowadays for a fatal verbal faux pas, and is now being condemned by the…
He was like Nureyev among clog dancers; like Shakespeare competing with the writers of dime novels; like the difference between Einstein and a first-year chemistry student at a small, insignificant college. Pete Maravich was that rare bird among noted basketball…
Big, evil Russia is poised to seize the Ukraine and put it back into place as just another province of the re-constituted Russian Empire that Vladimir Putin is starting to build. Right? Well, that’s what elements of the U.S. news…
And so the 50th anniversary of the world’s first discovery of the greatest rock band of all time — perhaps the greatest ENTERTAINMENT phenoma of all time — has passed with suitable note and well-deserved praise for the Fab Four,…
They died 55 years ago today — three young men who gained immortality for the music they wrote, played and sang, and for what further heights they might have reached in their careers, if only … Two Texans, Buddy Holly…
Remember “The Spaghetti Western?” This is the 50th anniversary of the release of the first of three movies which became synonymous with the phrase: “The Man With No Name Trilogy.” Actually I don’t think the trilogy most people think of…