It is a well known myth that while fires destroyed the great city of Rome, the emporer Nero sat on his rooftop playing his lyre and watching the flames engulf the heart of his empire. Whether true or not, the image persists and the popular saying “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” is readily applied to […]

The vocal minority that is the religious right would have you believe that homosexuality is an evil plague that will destroy the fabric of America. They have spent the last decade trying to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and, failing in that, have taken their […]

Spring…a time of growth, or regrowth if you will… From our first footsteps as modern humans, our species has moved forward, stretching our potential as we improved our mortal condition, each new step taking thousands of years before its imprint could be seen. It took humanity about 190,000 years to move from the Stone Age […]

First, let me say that the title to this post is imperfect, but it’s the best I could do. Clearly, not all ‘conservatives’ decry the fact that the Earth’s climate is changing, or that it is because of human activity that those changes are occurring. Further, ‘global warming’ is somewhat imprecise, as the climate changes […]

Authoritarianism seems to be popular these days, or at least among those twenty-something percent of Americans who think the President is a swell guy. Recently, I had the good fortune to experience a bit of trickle down Deciderism at work right here in my own neighborhood. And then I got to see it smacked down […]

Waging War on Americans According to the FBI’s latest annual uniform crime report, the Bush Administration is doing a spectacular job in combating what is surely this nation’s number one problem- marijuana users. In fact, more people were arrested for marijuana offenses last year than at any time in this country’s history. Over 770,000 people […]

We live in a society that at times seems to take great pains to produce the most idiotic and inane policies possible. In this era of nonsensical political correctness, where up is told it’s really down, and the word “is” has infinite meanings, one of the most confounding practices to be injected into our society […]

Religion should be defined as a relationship between a person and their god, whether that god is a single supernatural being or a multi-faceted force of life or a really tall evergreen tree. Religion, in this form, can be a powerful force for good in a persons life, offering them comfort in times of trouble, […]

As the father of a young child, I am often dismayed at what passes for family entertainment these days, at least insofar as the mass media is concerned. Finding television shows that are not laced with violence, gratuitous sexual innuendo, foul language or rude behavior is almost impossible. Listening to the radio in the car […]

Every week, I receive a handful of solicitations in my mailbox from organizations seeking a donation. They send me pre-printed address labels, greeting cards, calendars, and other assorted goodies in an effort to guilt me into sending them some money. And several times a month, I get phone calls from other organizations asking for a […]