Hey, what’s that in our stocking? It’s Ron Paul! Oh joy – we got The Truth® for Christmas! Ahem. So those of you who thought Ron Paul was going to go away once the big boys got serious have probably been surprised by his staying power so far. He’s polling in the high single digits (something Ronald Reagan Fred Thompson
Read moreIn describing the Democratic response to Bush’s sabre-rattling toward Iran, Power of Narrative’s Arthur Silber summed things up neatly: They don’t object because — they don’t object. The only thing wrong with Silber’s assessment is that it was limited to Iran. In truth, you could just as easily use those seven succinct words to characterize the Democratic Party in general.
Read moreA colleague has notified me that I’m under indictment by a previously unknown blog calling itself the St. Louis Skeptical Society, a site that “was founded on October 11, 2007 by a handful of physics graduate students in order to promote skepticism and science.” These enterprising students have taken exception to my earlier thoughts on democracy in America, concluding that
Read moreA few weeks ago I watched The US vs. John Lennon, a documentary chronicling the extraordinary lengths the American government went to in order to silence an artist who had the audacity to speak out against corruption and injustice. Of course, Lennon came from an age when artists did that sort of thing, and he wasn’t the only musician to
Read moreI recently offended some people, quite unintentionally, with my modest suggestion that perhaps it wasn’t in the best interests of the nation to hand over so much decision-making power to people who aren’t informed about the issues and their own system of government. (Responses ranged from “thoughtful disagreement” to what I believe is referred to as a “galloping hissy fit.”)
Read moreIn my most recent post, one commenter repeatedly insisted that I offer a solution or an alternative for the problems I was pointing to. As I noted there, I never suggested that there was a problem, and even if there were, it’s hardly my job to be proposing a lot of solutions that aren’t going to be acted on. If
Read moreThomas Jefferson’s legacy is much admired in the US and beyond, and for good reason. Without his contributions it’s hard to imagine how the American system of “democracy” would have evolved. I’ve always admired him a great deal, too, although for somewhat different reasons than most. Yes, he was critical to the development of democracy, but what was so brilliant
Read moreHowdy folks – time now for yet another episode of Scholars & Rogues’ critically acclaimed Saturday Video Roundup! Today we pay tribute to men, mostly. It’s hard to be a man, especially when there are so many things that a man is without. For example, here are some men without shirts.
Read moreThe World Series starts tomorrow night and people around here have gone Rockies crazy. I’m getting asked a lot if I’m excited, and the answer is yes – Go Red Sox! They all want to know “why aren’t you rooting for Colorado?” So I’m answering them: First off, the Red Sox are my favorite team. Second, I cannot abide the
Read moreThe Honorable Terry M. Bellamy Mayor, Asheville NC P.O. Box 7148 Asheville NC, 28802 Dear Mayor Bellamy: As you no doubt realize by now, you have something of a PR nightmare on your hands. One of your police officers, Russell Crisp, recently arrested a resident named Jonas Phillips for obstructing a sidewalk. Since people were apparently having no trouble walking
Read moreI’ve heard from some conservative quarters lately that the librul campaign to unhorse Don Imus is anywhere from hypocritical to a full-Monty assault on the right to free speech. In some cases there may well be some hypocrisy – I’m sure there are people on the “left” side of the aisle who have made comments that are just as egregious
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lullaby pit 