William Johnson
@wlj05819.bsky.social
Retired international school administrator, avocational poet, purveyor of radically reformed reformation theology.
A charming film of the Saigon I first knew, described by its director as his "love letter to Saigon."
saigoneer.com/rewind/28500...
saigoneer.com/rewind/28500...
In 'Cú Và Chim Se Sẻ,' a Director's Radical Empathy for Saigon's Less Fortunate | Saigoneer
“They can do what they want. The city owns the zoo. They could sell all the animals here. They could turn it into a golf course. We’re just little people — you and me.”
...
saigoneer.com
December 25, 2025 at 11:52 AM
A charming film of the Saigon I first knew, described by its director as his "love letter to Saigon."
saigoneer.com/rewind/28500...
saigoneer.com/rewind/28500...
mutatis mutandis: the evening news once reported the number of "Viet Cong" killed each day as though to assure the American public that we were winning at war . . . and now we have the occupant of the White House pushing for more "migrant" arrests and to what phantasmal end may we ask?
November 25, 2025 at 12:14 AM
mutatis mutandis: the evening news once reported the number of "Viet Cong" killed each day as though to assure the American public that we were winning at war . . . and now we have the occupant of the White House pushing for more "migrant" arrests and to what phantasmal end may we ask?
On a timely rereading of Karl Barth's analysis of Pontius Pilate:
"he attempts to rescue and maintain order in Jerusalem and thereby at the same time to preserve his own position of power, by surrendering clear law, for the protection of which he was actually installed. Remarkable contradiction!"
"he attempts to rescue and maintain order in Jerusalem and thereby at the same time to preserve his own position of power, by surrendering clear law, for the protection of which he was actually installed. Remarkable contradiction!"
November 13, 2025 at 2:22 PM
On a timely rereading of Karl Barth's analysis of Pontius Pilate:
"he attempts to rescue and maintain order in Jerusalem and thereby at the same time to preserve his own position of power, by surrendering clear law, for the protection of which he was actually installed. Remarkable contradiction!"
"he attempts to rescue and maintain order in Jerusalem and thereby at the same time to preserve his own position of power, by surrendering clear law, for the protection of which he was actually installed. Remarkable contradiction!"
James Baldwin: "a civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless"
October 11, 2025 at 2:21 PM
James Baldwin: "a civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless"
A worthy read:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/why-...
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/why-...
Why Charlie Kirk Landed with Young Men Like Me - Christianity Today
He didn’t hedge or soften his positions to broaden appeal; he underlined them.
www.christianitytoday.com
September 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM
A worthy read:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/why-...
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/09/why-...
the letter of @drmoore.bsky.social to President Trump should be on the Letters to the Editor page of every newspaper in the country . . . go ahead, ask him editors, it's the real deal
August 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
the letter of @drmoore.bsky.social to President Trump should be on the Letters to the Editor page of every newspaper in the country . . . go ahead, ask him editors, it's the real deal
Ortega y Gasset: "When the mass acts on its own, it does so only in one way, for it has no other: it lynches. It is not altogether by chance that lynch law comes from America, for America is, in a fashion, the paradise of the masses."
August 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Ortega y Gasset: "When the mass acts on its own, it does so only in one way, for it has no other: it lynches. It is not altogether by chance that lynch law comes from America, for America is, in a fashion, the paradise of the masses."
"Alaska was not just another drop in our overflowing bucket of mortifications. It was proof that for the next 41 months, no interlocutor can believe a word the U.S. president says." (George Will, "Now it is the Old World’s turn to rescue the United States," WP Opinion)
August 18, 2025 at 11:22 PM
"Alaska was not just another drop in our overflowing bucket of mortifications. It was proof that for the next 41 months, no interlocutor can believe a word the U.S. president says." (George Will, "Now it is the Old World’s turn to rescue the United States," WP Opinion)
Lovell’s most astounding formulation: “We don’t go to heaven when we die, we go to heaven when we’re born.” Lovell said, “There is a heaven, and God has given you the opportunity to enjoy the best things in life right here on Earth, right now.”
Basil Hero, Mission of a Lifetime . . . opportunity!
Basil Hero, Mission of a Lifetime . . . opportunity!
August 18, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Lovell’s most astounding formulation: “We don’t go to heaven when we die, we go to heaven when we’re born.” Lovell said, “There is a heaven, and God has given you the opportunity to enjoy the best things in life right here on Earth, right now.”
Basil Hero, Mission of a Lifetime . . . opportunity!
Basil Hero, Mission of a Lifetime . . . opportunity!
rereading WCWilliams In the American Grain: the chapter entitled “Cotton Mather’s Wonders” might well be a series of current social media posts . . . uncanny!
August 8, 2025 at 3:38 PM
rereading WCWilliams In the American Grain: the chapter entitled “Cotton Mather’s Wonders” might well be a series of current social media posts . . . uncanny!
Reposted by William Johnson
The thing about the Epstein disgustingness that strikes me hardest is that hundreds of rich old men raped underage girls and the only person currently in jail for that vile behavior is a woman.
July 16, 2025 at 7:17 PM
The thing about the Epstein disgustingness that strikes me hardest is that hundreds of rich old men raped underage girls and the only person currently in jail for that vile behavior is a woman.
A troubling chapter in William F. Buckley’s life
June 7, 2025 at 12:34 PM
A troubling chapter in William F. Buckley’s life
