A certain fluffy-headed optimist posed the following question:
“What tiny change could the whole world make right now to make a huge impact on the rate of climate change in the next decade?”
I’m sure it was aimed at provoking answers like “walk to work” or “plant a tree”, maybe “use less plastic” or just “consume less”. Which would all be good things; I won’t argue that; we should do them all, absolutely. But this sort of question obscures the true (more…)
“When our founding fathers gave us freedom of speech in the 1st Amendment, it meant all speech, whether you like it or not!” -R.H.
No complex question has a simple answer.
Generally, I agree: If you say “I believe…” and follow that by a statement, no matter how offensive that might be, you’re protected under the law, and because of certain inalienable (more…)
If you’ve been reading my stuff for any amount of time, you might remember that I was a pretty fervent supporter of Gary Johnson in 2016. Now, I’m no Libertarian; likewise, I don’t smoke pot. I just really dislike both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and I couldn’t bring myself to vote for either one.
(Not to worry; I voted in Maryland. I didn’t get Trump elected.)
This time around, the most prominent Libertarian is running as a Republican. That’s only fair, since the most prominent Socialist (more…)
The beer wasn’t bad at all, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about.
Most microbrewery restaurants serve decent pub food — deep fried snacks, maybe some nachos; you know, good unhealthy old standbys. But the Pub at Cape Ann is something special: They have barbecue. Boy-oh-mister, do they have barbecue! (more…)
Wars and government atrocities aside, the United States has more spree shootings than any other country each year.
This is a problem that demands discussion between reasonable and intelligent people. Unfortunately, the political climate in this country is one of extreme and entrenched polarization; moral certitude precludes (more…)
I never thought I’d be grateful to a pop-up ad.
The automatic ad software here on WordPress is particularly irritating, and it finally drove someone to the extreme of kicking me a little cash, which I’m using to kill the ads. For this month. As more donations come in, the ads will stay gone.
Yes, this is extortion. WordPress started it with all the intrusive pop-ups, and now I’m just a corporate shill, (more…)
I’m not a climatologist. Neither is anyone that’s warned me about the evils of climate change lately. Like everything else these days, at best we get our information from the news — in other words, a 24-hour 7-day nonstop entertainment program designed to sell advertising and drown out the competition. At worst, we get our news from Facebook memes, Trump’s or AOC’s latest Tweet, or internet rumormongers.
So it’s not surprising that the American public is, for the most part, sadly misinformed (more…)
Located right next to the Swig & Swine (third-best ribs I’ve ever had) on Rte. 17 in Charleston, The Glass Onion has a tough act to follow. It does just fine. The honey-touched cornbread alone would make this place. But it’s not alone, and thank God, because what comes after is manna from heaven. (more…)
“The only people truly bound by campaign promises are the voters who believe them.”
― Christopher Hitchens
There are two types of promises: comforting lies, and those meant to be kept. Campaign promises differ from normal ones only in the choice of subject; where a doctor might tell a panicked child, “Now, you might feel a little pinch,” a politician will promise to end world hunger (more…)
I’ve been living down south for a number of years now (for my sins), and it sure is curious to see how different life is down here from up home.
Well, the first thing is, here, there’s seasons, I guess, but you wouldn’t call ’em real seasons, not the way we had ’em growing up. Oh, summer here’s the real thing; you can feel the scorch through the walls and hear the heat crackle even over the roar of the A/C. But back home, when the leaves started turning and there’d be a bite to the (more…)
The Not Fake News 
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