August 2020 - Richard M. Langworth

Get Your History Right: Reply to Reader Hasan in “The Blade” (Toledo)

30 August 2020 Comments 3 Comments

NPR advances the Zeitgeist; The Blade responds

On a radio talk show distributed by National Public Radio, one Aliyah Hasinah said World War II had been started by a Eugenics-besotted Winston Churchill. On August 8th, the Editorial Board of The Blade replied: “NPR gave airtime to an activist who has a clear ax to grind against Churchill, yet it couldn’t find a scholar or biographer to give us a depiction of the whole man? …. Churchill was not a perfect human being. He was often wrong and some of his failures were spectacular, But for the most part, he epitomizes eloquence, courage and love of country.…

James Humes 1934-2020: Irrepressible Admirer of Old Excellence

26 August 2020 Comments 3 Comments

James Calhoun Humes … has died at 85. From his celestial perch, he is probably wondering about this little tribute. He was convinced, I heard, that he had given “mortal affront” by his impersonations of Sir Winton Churchill. Or, in my case, by publishing a book of Churchill quotes, many of which he mangled, some of which he made up. I guess in later life, he thought we’d written him off. Not quite. = Humes was born in Pennsylvania to Samuel Hamilton Humes and Elenor Kathryn Graham. He was descended from early settlers of Virginia and Tennessee.…

Petition Response to Churchill High School: Please Keep Your Name

22 August 2020 Comments 3 Comments

This is a reply to a July petition to rename Winston Churchill High School, Bethesda, Maryland. Founded in 1964 as Potomac High School, its name was changed the following year to mark Sir Winston’s passing. It is a distinguished school whose alumni include two sons of the late Jack Kemp, both of whom pursued their famous father’s sport. Jeffrey Allan Kemp (’77) was an NFL quarterback; his brother Jimmy Kemp (’89) played in the CFL and is president of the Jack Kemp Foundation. State Senator Cheryl Kagan (’79) serves in the Maryland legislature.…