(An apology to regular readers of Common Sense. As of late, I have become increasingly occupied with beginning a campaign. That explains the increasing length of time between posts. This post was originally published here in June 2005. But it came back to mind today after I read another similar essay, and it seems to […]

When I turned 18 years old, I registered to vote. I indicated on my registration form that I was a Democrat. I stayed a registered democrat until 2004. That’s when I became an officially designated “non-affiliated” voter. In truth, I was just this kind of voter all along. I was raised to believe that if […]

You may have noticed a new banner on the right side for the 2005 Koufax Awards. I’d never heard of these blog awards until this year, but apparently they recognize writers and blogs for a variety of categories. It was a surprise to me that I was nominated in the ‘Best Series’ category, for my […]

Free speech…it is one of the hallmarks of the American way of life. The ability to freely express oneself without fear of government reprisal is so fundamental that it is enshrined in the first amendment to our national Constitution. Yet despite this protection, there have always been restrictions on how free our speech really is, […]

The long holiday weekend was blissfully spent avoiding any real news beyond learning that the turkey was indeed done. Returning to a mound of newspapers to be read quickly brought me up to speed on some of the more noticed comings and goings in the world. Some reflect positive steps by governments to improve the […]

Thanksgiving is one of our oldest national holidays, and is purely American in its origins. Ostensibly, we are honoring the European settlers who managed to carve out a living in a strange and not altogether hospitable new land. They began this holiday themselves, to rejoice at their good fortune for staying alive against the odds. […]

“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.” –King Whitney Jr.-1967 I began writing […]

One of the basic tenets of American society is the right to privacy. Or at least, it used to be. With advances in technology though, it seems as if privacy is a passé idea in an information age where every transaction is digitally stored, every report is saved in bits and bytes, every communication traceable. […]

The curtain has been firmly pulled back now and Americans of every stripe are finally facing the facts of what we’ve all known but ignored for so long, namely that our government is a farce of what it pretends to be. The machinations of the corporate oligarchs and their puppet politicians have been revealed for […]

The outpouring of assistance from everyday American citizens and small businesses is almost enough to quell the anger that has been directed towards our government in their complete lack of effectiveness in dealing with this disaster. Yet were it not for the generosity of each and every one of us who has been touched by […]