“War is hell,” said General William T. Sherman in 1864. The politicians speak of the honor of war and the poets speak of its glory but the soldiers and the victims know the real truth… war is hell.

In 1919, President Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, died in his sleep at age 60. Edsel Ford succeeded his father as head of Ford Motor Company. Congress established most of Grand Canyon as a National Park. The Treaty of Versailles was signed, officially ending World War I. The League of Nations was formed, and so was a Sunday morning Bible study in old College Park, Georgia.

A faded cotton sweatshirt inspired last week’s conversation - or lack of - about four great cities and their symbols. Certainly I don’t want to suggest that London and Paris are the world’s greatest municipalities or that I have the credentials to judge them. After all, my shirt is only a size 12.

Most of my adult life has been intertwined with the Kennedy family. As a freshman at American University in 1960, I stayed up late watching the election returns, as John F. Kennedy barely eked out a victory over Richard Nixon. As with most Americans my age, the decades that followed always involved one or more members of the Kennedy family, whether it was legislation, indiscretions, speeches or just curiosity.

During the 2009 legislative session, the General Assembly worked hard to balance the budget by cutting inefficient programs and wasted taxpayer dollars. It’s true that we passed a number of important measures to protect homeowners. There is one exception, however: the decision not to fund the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant (HTRG).

There were certain issues in the past, whenever they arose, when I just kept my thoughts to myself and kept going.

As an elected official who was vocal on land use and transportation issues, I was often called to speak to various groups regarding those subjects. But before speaking, I would sometimes be introduced as the mayor of a city created under a master plan, never veering from it, maintaining the original vision from start to present. It was not true.

By Robert M. Goldberg

When it comes to evaluating the claims of Democrats about rationing and how to deal with grandma, I am guided by that great philosopher, Marx. That’s Groucho, not Karl, who famously said, “Who do you believe, me or your eyes?”

One fall afternoon, I was lunching with a close friend of mine at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. A man from another table tentatively approached us and explained that he and his wife were fans of this column.

In 1996, Christ the King Church began in my living room. Within a few weeks we had outgrown the space (it doesn’t take very many people to outgrow a living room).

If the left wing of the left wing of the left wing in American life doesn’t control most of the Obama farmstead’s best and richest acreage, it could be time for new spectacles — since things surely look that way.

Last weekend a great debate raged at our house. Was it over money? Although always a worthy topic for a lively debate, money wasn’t the one for last weekend.

Many of the issues of our times are hard to understand without understanding the vision of the world that they are part of. Whether the particular issue is education, economics or medical care, the preferred explanation tends to be an external explanation — that is, something outside the control of the individuals directly involved.

When parents plunk down $20, $30, $40 and maybe $50 thousand this fall for a year’s worth of college room, board and tuition, it might be relevant to ask: What will their children learn in return?

There are so many interesting places to visit in the world, and life is so short, one wonders how to choose. There are those who believe travel should begin and end in their native land, depriving themselves and families of the wonders of the rest of the world.

If you were at Woodstock 40 years ago, you might remember the music, peace and love from that monumental event as if it were yesterday.

We always like to think that “our child” will always behave well, follow school rules and obey the law. However, every year a whole host of students manage to wind up in trouble at school or violating the law.

Just this morning, I turned the page of a book and was immediately and delightedly reminded of the power of words on paper.

In England, the Charity Tribunal, a judicial body, has ruled that Catholic Care, the adoption agency for the Diocese of Leeds, must cooperate with homosexual couples who wish to adopt children, according to a news item in The Catholic World Reporter. The agency now faces a terrible choice.

Next month Best Friend Mitch will be going through the same shoulder operation that I underwent last December. He’ll be out of work for six months.

There is a series of questions asked of persons to be ordained (ordinands) in the United Methodist Church. They include things like, “have you belief in God?” and “Do you find the precepts of the United Methodist Church to be consistent with Christian doctrine?” There are a number of others, but that’s the gist. However, there are two that stand out to me: “Are you going on to perfection?” and “Do you expect to be made perfect in love?”

On Friday, Aug. 14, The New York Times ran a front-page story “rebutting” the “rumor” that Obama’s healthcare plan calls for the creation of “death panels” to decide when to pull the plug on sick patients. The rebuttal misses the fundamental truth of the death panel charge.

I knew CSU-Fayette had reached a new level of success this week when I found myself going from classroom to classroom to see if there was space to squeeze in more desks.

Early on that Saturday morning, the phone had rung as I puzzled over the recently acquired digital camcorder, wondering why on earth I had purchased such a sophisticated one.

I was put on trial last week. I didn’t even know that I had committed an offense but there I was facing a judge with a prosecutor and defender on either side of me.

Did!

Didn’t!

Did, too!

Didn’t either!

Oh, what a wondrously enlightening healthcare debate we’re having. Democratic hotshots, from the White House on down, blame the throngs protesting at town hall meetings. Baloney. It’s the hotshots who are most to blame.

For almost eight years now I’ve written this newspaper column. That’s over 390 stories about boyhood friends, family, and life’s observations through the somewhat distorted eyes of yours truly. Never once have I had to say I’m sorry. Depending on whom you ask, an apology for some of the things I’ve done, and penned, is long overdue.

Random thoughts on the passing scene:

Different people have very different reactions to President Barack Obama. Those who listen to his rhetoric are often inspired, while those who follow what he actually does are often appalled.

President Barack Obama won an unprecedented 96 percent of the black vote. That’s not much of a news story since blacks typically give their votes to the Democratic candidate.

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Pastors get some of the most interesting questions from people they meet and people in their congregations. Here are some questions that I have received during my years of ministry and via email for this column.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote an op-ed column for The Washington Post last week in defense of the Obama administration’s efforts to “reform” healthcare.