‘Riding’ and ‘jumping’ might solve problems

DO YOU EVER FEEL like Lord Ronald? That's how Poor William has felt lately, but he only just learned that Ronald was the person who "flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions."

PW has heard about people doing this for most of his life, but thought it was from a John Wayne movie. However, Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia, says it was a line used by famous Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) in his story "Gertrude the Governess." ("Lord Ronald said nothing; he flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions.")
"Gertrude" dates to 1911, so perhaps Leacock was the person who coined the phrase in question. Regardless, to PW the impossible feat is just a colloquial way of expressing frustration over having too many things to do all at the same time. It's sort of like "not knowing which way to jump."
Google provides many examples of the latter phrase, with Poor William's favorite being from 1881's "History of Woman Suffrage." It says, "So long as the mass of men spend most of their time on the fence not knowing which way to jump, they are surely in no condition to tell us where we had better stand."
Miss Kitty couldn't have said it better. PW seems to remember a few times she's told him something similar.
So, since PW is truly frustrated and does not know what to write about, he just will jump on his figurative horse and ride off on several different subjects.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - Another battle is brewing in the U.S. Supreme Court, with Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice arguing the case. Here's a bit of what he said in a recent e-mail:
"We have won (such) cases before - but this latest attack is like a new strain of virus. Our opponents want ANY public institution with the Ten Commandments on display to be forced to also display an opposing view.
"You can look around your own hometown and imagine what this would mean ... Next to that patriotic monument in the city park, you'd need an anti-American monument. Where a VFW monument now stands, a message belittling our veterans would have to go up ... And next to the Statue of Liberty ... a Statue of Tyranny?"
PW prays that Sekulow can persuade the justices NOT to favor this latest challenge. If the case is lost, though, what would have to be placed next to the mall's great Ten Commandments monument ... a dozen "suggestions?"

THE BARONESS THATCHER - That's the title now held by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who recently was honored by The Heritage Foundation. In a letter for Heritage, she wrote, "The world owes an enormous debt of gratitude to Ronald Reagan ... (who) reminded us of another great lesson, which so many others had forgotten or chosen to forget. He re-taught us the economic principles which underpin our prosperity. He knew that lower taxes and greater economic freedoms brought boundless opportunity and increased wealth. And he knew that helping people to help themselves was better than state planning and regulation." She then compared this to today's politicians "who talk of tax and spend policies, forgetting that it is your money they are taxing and your money they are spending. Such policies ... create (a land) of dependency."
Maybe the Baroness should be granted U.S. citizenship and be allowed to run for president as an independent. Her words sound better than what today's "official" crop of candidates are uttering.
And, as Mallard Fillmore recently said, "Pro tax cuts, pro national defense, anti racial preferences, NRA member ... if JFK were a candidate today, he could be the Republican nominee! Naaah ... He'd be too conservative."

PAUL NEWMAN - Good ol' Cool Hand Luke is HOT now for the global warming crusade. Paul and Joanne Woodward are one of the few long-running couples in Hollywood and for that (and their acting skills) PW admires them.
But, they recently sent PW a form letter urging him to "join us (the Newmans) as proud members of the Environmental Defense Action Fund and take action to leave the world a better place for those who come after us." PW is for the latter, but doubts that the Newmans know anything more about global warming than Algore does.
Furthermore, isn't passing something called the "Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act" apt to spew even more hot air into atmosphere? That said, PW probably would sell out and join the Newmans if they could guarantee a nice, slow 2-inch rain all over the Permian Basin.

HAVE A SUPER SUNDAY and a wonderful week!