Month: January 2016

NY Times Endorses Kasich: So What?

As of this writing, it’s about twenty-four hours before the Iowa Caucuses begin.  This year there’s a good chance that we’ll know the results by the end of the night thanks to Microsoft.  (Watch the video; it’s awesome.)

Just before the caucuses, the New York Times decided to endorse John Kasich, the solidly conservative governor of Ohio.  And… well, let’s face it:  The man’s got zero chance in Iowa.  So who cares?

We ought to (more…)

It’s Snowing — And The Government Shuts Down

Yesterday, there was an inch of snow, and the President’s motorcade got stuck on the road.  Literally stuck.  Literally on the road.  One inch.

Tomorrow, there’s two feet of snow due.  Will the Federal government shut down?

It’s a serious concern.  During the winter of ’09-’10, not one but two (more…)

Politics 2016: Can We Win?

Bernie Sanders may very well be the Democratic Party’s candidate for President in 2016, and Donald Trump is increasingly likely to be his Republican opponent.

And you could change that.

Interested yet?  Thought you might be.  Let me tell you what’s up and why it matters.

(more…)

The State Of The Union Is Not Good — But It Could Be

Those of you who know me will know that I love sifting through the worst garbage to find treasures — diamonds in the rough.  Last night’s State of the Union address was less garbage than most are and certainly better than expected, and there were some true gems carefully concealed within the rhetoric.  The (more…)

Obama Is Not Taking Your Guns

I should have started this with “Spoiler Alert”.  ‘Cause nobody’s seen this movie yet.

A couple of days ago, President Obama announced on national television that he was taking executive action about gun violence.  He invoked memories of tragedies, from Newtown and Aurora through Ford Hood and San Bernardino, and at one point he broke into tears.

I’m going to (more…)

On Banning Assault Rifles

It’s said even Reagan was against every Tom, Dick, and Harry owning an AK-47.  And that may well be true; on the other hand, what difference does it make?  We should keep this discussion to the essentials, and reduce whatever we can to its core.

There exists a philosophical difficulty with banning “assault rifles”; it can be (more…)

Conspiracy Theories And 9/11: World Trade Center

Many remember 9/11, but some of us view the events in a different light.  In order to discuss it, I’d like to start with some baseline information and move on from there.

PM-911-lead

The official story:  On 11 September, 2001, two commercial airliners impacted the main towers of the World Trade Center on the island of Manhattan in New York City.  Thousands of people (more…)

Conspiracy Theories And 9/11: The Pentagon

Not too long ago, a good friend of mine was looking at Facebook when he suddenly exclaimed, “Good God!  Don’t tell me people still believe that $#!+!”

Because we’re talking Facebook, I had to ask for a bit of clarification.  I mean, really — there’s a lot of $#!+ out there, after all.  And so I asked, “To which particular bit of $#!+ do you refer?” (more…)