Author Archives: Philip E Jenks

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About Philip E Jenks

Philip, a synodical deacon in the ELCA Metropolitan New York synod, is a retired communicator for American Baptist Churches USA, the U.S. Conference for the World Council of Churches, the U.S. National Council of Churches, and two Philadelphia area daily newspapers. He and his spouse, the Rev. Dr. Martha M. Cruz, are the parents of six adults and are members of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rye Brook, N.Y. They live in Port Chester, N.Y.

The Chaplain’s Assistants Who Won the Cold War

“To most people, a veteran was a veteran – all were the same, whether one man had survived the deadliest combat or another had pounded a typewriter while in uniform.” – Eugene Sledge, World War II hero featured in the HBO … Continue reading →

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Guns and the Yahootude

By Philip E. Jenks January 7, 2018 – Less than a week into his term as Westchester, N.Y., County Executive, George Latimer issued an executive order banning gun shows in government buildings in the county. Almost immediately one of Latimer’s … Continue reading →

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Lost in the White House 1996

January 1, 2018. New Year’s Day is a time of reminiscing and I came across this December 2009 essay in my blogs. It tells the story of a happy experience in the White House in 1996. The Divine M and … Continue reading →

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Wenching

The debauchery arc of the universe is long, and it bends toward boys. At least in our dreams. Even Jimmy Carter said he lusted in his heart, but the only surprise there is that Fox News never found out with … Continue reading →

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Did McNamara Forgive Himself?

It has been fifty years since President Lyndon Johnson figured out a safe way to fire Secretary of Defense Robert Strange McNamara. According to Fredrik Logevall’s recent article in the New York Times, McNamara woke up on November 29, 1967 … Continue reading →

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Sanity and Rationality in the Cuban Missile Crisis

October 20, 2018 – Fifty-six years ago today, President John F. Kennedy announced he had a cold. He certainly looked the part. He went so far as to be photographed wearing a hat and overcoat, and he twisted his features … Continue reading →

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#IKnew

#MeToo. The response of thousands of women to Harvey Weinstein’s serial abuse of females should come as no surprise to us guys. Harvey and his evil ilk are everywhere, and if we have not been him we quietly rolled our … Continue reading →

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John Woolman, the Great Muslin Hope

October 19, 2017 – John Woolman, the itinerate Quaker mystic who spread his peaceful witness throughout Colonial New Jersey in the mid 18th century, was born 295 years ago today. Woolman became one of my heroes when I was a … Continue reading →

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The Day I Was a Lazy, Filthy Fogger

The memory had been lost for fifty years in the dim recesses of my hippocampus. This morning a little dab of shaving foam dislodged it. There it was, dangling defiantly from the plastic red spigot of my foamy shaving cream … Continue reading →

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When Uncle Frank Jenks out-acted Raymond Massey

ME TV (Memorable Entertainment Television) is one of several networks catering to Boomers by broadcasting reruns of 1950s and 1960s era TV programs we loved. Sometimes I think it would be kinder if they left some shows to our fading … Continue reading →

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