The Plame game -- Just the facts, ma'am (08/03/05)
I don't know if working on a newspaper like the Daily Mail for three years qualifies me as a journalist or if I'm just a hack reporter but considering what mainstream national journalists are up to I'm not sure I want the hoity-toity title. It's bad enough when national politicians get down in the muck and throw mudballs at each other while screaming "Did not! -- Did too!" at one another, but when media members join in while claiming to be impartial observers any credibility they claim for themselves evaporates like a drop of water in desert sands.. ...

Jockeying begins for empty high court seat (07/12/05)
When news broke that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was retiring from the Supreme Court, special interest groups on both sides of the liberal/conservative divide jumped into action -- never mind that President Bush has not yet named an individual to fill that vacancy. Conservatives are worried that any individual that possesses a conservative bent will be Borked by the Senate Democrats, a process that the left is already gearing up for, if Ted Kennedy's recent opinion piece is anything to go by...

An open letter to the troops (06/26/05)
Hi, how are you? I know you're busy over there in Iraq, Afghanistan and all the other locations where troops are stationed. but I hope you have time to read this. I really want you to know how I feel about you. First, I should apologize for not getting more involved and letting you know how much I appreciate the sacrifice you're making for us fellow citizens. ...

Cultural beliefs-- fad or fact? (05/06/05)
I enjoy Richard Carpenter's appearances in our paper and look forward to reading his opinion when he does appear. His latest observations were cogent but flawed. Richard argued against pushing one's religious beliefs onto others, and I can't disagree with that, however, he failed to take into account the fact that those of a more liberal bent also seem to often see no problem in pushing their beliefs onto those who hold more traditional beliefs...

Software snafu (05/03/05)
I recently had some software that wasn't performing as I'd hoped. There was a monthly service fee to use the service and I called them to cancel (not a locally-owned service). The operator asked why I was canceling the service and I told him that the software was not performing the one function I wanted it to perform...

Minutemen: vigilantes or watch dogs? (04/19/05)
Vigilante n. A member of a volunteer committee organized to suppress and punish crime summarily. Gathered at our southern border are several volunteers, bringing their concerns to the attention of their hired help in Washington. Hired help is exactly what the Senators and Congresscritters are; hired to do a job, which they are not getting better at as the years go by. ...

Schiavo not the only life-and-death controversy (04/12/05)
It turns out Terry Schiavo's death wasn't the first step down a slippery slope, it was a head-first dive off of a deep precipice. This is what I, and many others, tried to get across -- morality means something. Denigrate the importance of morality in making hard life and death decisions and you demean the value of life...

Wit and wisdom? (04/05/05)
I've been reading Thoreau again, always a dangerous practice, and I decided that since I can't get along with anyone around here who's living I'd start picking fights with dead guys just to keep my hand in. Thoreau had a lot of ideas, more than I'm ever liable to come up with, but I can't help thinking if he were alive today he'd be one of those guys who still has the long hair, probably in a pony-tail, that makes you want to yell at them to let them know that the '70s are over. ...

Schiavo case not as simple as some think (03/30/05)
It seems I can't get along with anyone around here, last week it was Pat Brophy and Lynn Wade and this week it's Chuck Nash. The problem I have with Chuck's last column is not always what he said, but, in many cases, what he didn't. Chuck left out so much information that you couldn't blame someone for thinking that Terri Schiavo was brain dead, didn't feel anything and could never be rehabilitated, but that is not the case and I suspect Chuck is aware of that fact. ...

Don't lower standards in the name of being politically correct (03/22/05)
Patrick Brophy and our editor, Lynn Wade, have taken two distinctly different positions on women's equality. The interesting thing is that both are wrong -- and both are right. It's like the group of blind people describing an elephant, what each one describes depends on where on the elephant they grab onto...

Rather retires (03/16/05)
Dan Rather is no longer on CBS evening news but still has a place on 60 Minutes Wednesday. The question that comes to mind is "Why?" CBS should just dump him and get on with life. It's like pulling an adhesive bandage off, the slower you pull it off the more painful it is. Rip it off quickly and it doesn't hurt as much...

'Bush sends his greetings' (03/08/05)
Protesters in Lebanon shouted out this warning to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria last week. By doing so they gave President Bush a compliment that many here at home are loathe to do. Don't believe me? Just look at those protesters, they believe Bush's actions are helping to make a different future a possibility, or they wouldn't have the guts to engage in what they're now doing...

Reader interpretation (02/25/05)
Herman Jank has again taken pen in hand to denounce my uncultured boorishness. This time he has taken it into his head that he can see into my head, a contention I vigorously deny. While I know Jank and I know he is serious about many worthy issues, ecology for one, and while I respect him I cannot always say the same for the causes he supports...

Be kind to animals, not fringe groups (02/18/05)
Mr. Jank wrote a letter to the editor disputing my characterization of the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He uses space to take on issues I never raised. He puts words in my mouth, words that are only in his imagination and not on the page that contained my original column...

Moral decay could lead to other problems (02/09/05)
Europe is sinking into a moral abyss and there doesn't seem to be any end to the decay. According to a story by Clare Chapman in the News-Telegraph, an English newspaper, German women can be forced to take jobs in the sex industry if they are on unemployment and are offered a job...

A wish for better science for the new year (01/09/05)
It's that time of year and I've decided that I'd pass on a few of my resolutions. I don't call them New Year's resolutions because they are things I've thought about and decided as the year passed by and not ones I've thought up especially for the new year...

What lies in the future? (11/30/04)
A few years ago I was talking with some friends about the future of America, some of what I said has already turned out to be prophetic, and I said something about what would happen after America ceased to be. One friend became indignant, how dare I assume a future in which America didn't exist!...

Through a glass, darkly (11/14/04)
Arafat dies Yasser Arafat is dead, finally. Yasser Arafat was born in Cairo in 1929, although he lied about it and said he was born in Jerusalem. The fact that he lied about it shouldn't surprise anyone, Arafat clothed himself in lies his whole life. His whole public persona was built on a lie...

Through a glass, darkly (10/15/04)
For people, not parties I've been accused of being a Republican shill because I have less than nice things to say about John Kerry and because I happen to believe George W. Bush is better for America. I don't take that stance because I'm Republican, as I have stated many times in the past I'm a member of the Libertarian party. In the past I have even been a Libertarian committeeman...

Through a glass, darkly (10/05/04)
Watching the debate Not one to watch conventions I managed to miss both the Democratic and Republican conventions but I found myself watching the presidential debates. While I find it difficult to explain why I can sit and watch a debate that is no less scripted than a convention, it remains true nonetheless...

Through a glass, darkly (09/29/04)
Textualism vs. fluidity When it comes to the Constitution of the United States of America, I'm a textualist. A lot of people claim that they are defenders of the Constitution, the American Civil Liberties Union for one, but what the ACLU defends isn't the Constitution, it is what judges have created out of thin air that the ACLU likes...

Through a glass, darkly (09/12/04)
We've come a long way since 9/11 We've come a long way since that terrible day three years ago when we were attacked by Islamic fanatics on four planes. We've somewhat recovered emotionally and our economy has rebounded to an amazing degree considering just where the terrorists struck, the financial heart of our country...

Through a glass, darkly (09/01/04)
Ongoing conflict needs ongoing leadership We're at war and we've been at war for two or three decades. At first we didn't know it. We thought we were facing criminals engaged in terroristic activity, we didn't realize we were facing a guerrilla war waged by terrorists who want to destroy our entire way of life...

Through a glass, darkly (08/18/04)
Ugandan president offers solution to AIDS epidemic Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said that condom use in his country isn't the solution to the AIDs epidemic and called for sexual abstinence and fidelity. You might be tempted to think Museveni has a insular, narrow-minded attitude, but you would be wrong...

Through a glass, darkly (08/07/04)
Symbols of society Symbols are important to any society, they help individuals visualize the common values that draw people together. In our society we have a host of symbols that represent various aspects of what it is to be American. We have many symbols that we recognize as embodying our national ethos. ...

Through a glass, darkly (08/06/04)
The Democratic Convention is in full swing in Boston as I write this but I have no intention of watching it, or the upcoming Republican convention later this year. Conventions are for the party faithful, raging pep rallies that are designed to give a boost to a preordained candidate and to the party in general...

Through a glass, darkly (07/20/04)
It drives me crazy … I don't know if it's because the summer heat is affecting people, but lately it seems that poor driving and road rudeness are more prevalent than ever. Even the parking lots are not safe from these mindless drivers that seem to think they have some sort of divine right to drive where they please, park where they please and block access when they please without consideration of anyone else...

Through a glass, darkly (07/13/04)
Too much Moore I haven't seen "Fahrenheit 9/11," and I don't intend to. A friend of mine tried to convince me that I needed to watch it even if I don't approve of the message. "You can't complain about it if you haven't watched it," he said. I've got news for him. ...

Through A Glass, Darkly (07/06/04)
These days there are those who are doing everything in their power to make sure that any mention of religion in public life is eradicated like some unwanted weed. Those who do so claim that the establishment clause of the Constitution allows no governmental entity to mention religion, any religion, in any way, shape, or form. Nothing could be further from the truth...

Through a glass, darkly (06/21/04)
Proud of our flag-waving culture I recently watched Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney. I like occasionally watching films that I've seen and enjoyed before. This time, however, I really empathized with Cagney's character in that old classic. There is a scene where an actress is asked to be in a George M. Cohan play. She resists and says Cohan's plays are full of "vulgar flag waving."...

Through a glass darkly (06/01/04)
Bill Cosby recently shocked people by speaking out against the culture of the poor in this country. He told a crowd that he wasn't even able to understand what they were saying some of the time. His remarks were soon denounced by some who feel that there is always an excuse for the behavior of people who demand to be taken care of by the system but don't want to participate in making it work...

Through a glass darkly (05/25/04)
I never knew his name until I learned of his death. Everyone just called him Papa, and everyone knew him. I never became really close to Papa, despite the fact that I really liked him. I learned more about Papa in the four days after his death than in the more than 10 years I'd known him...

Through a glass darkly (05/18/04)
Look through a couple of days worth of opinion papers and you're sure to see it. Someone with an overdeveloped sense of outrage at President George W. Bush lashing out by claiming that he lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. "Where are the WMDs" they cry. ...

Through a glass darkly (05/13/04)
I had it all planned out. My column would be a forthright condemnation of the treatment of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of American military personnel. That changed. The videotaped beheading of Nick Berg by terrorists brought me to my senses. Yes, the treatment of Iraqi prisoners was abuse, it was uncalled for and it brought shame to any feeling American. ...

Through a glass darkly (05/02/04)
Pat Tillman had a career most guys dream of but few ever have. He was a professional football player who was offered a $3.6 million dollar contract to continue playing with the Arizona Cardinals. He turned the contract down, not because he wasn't grateful to the Cardinals or that he demanded more money, but because his gratitude to his country was so much deeper. Instead of playing football with the Cardinals, Tillman chose to play in the really big leagues -- he joined the U.S. Army...

Through a glass darkly (01/27/04)
I watched a discussion on a news program the other day that focused on illegal immigration. I noticed that during the discussion the people on the panel who were against strengthening our borders always referred to the illegal aliens as "undocumented workers."...

Through a glass darkly (01/13/04)
In yet another blow to the people who complain that the policy of the United States is mistaken, the delegates of a constitutional assembly in Afghanistan have adopted a new charter, clearing the first hurdle to democratic elections in that country. In Iraq the coalition government is looking to turn over control of that country 100 percent to the Iraqi people by June of this year...

Through a glass darkly (12/26/03)
I read all sorts of columns on the Web, trying to keep up with what other people are concerned with. I came across Richard Cohen's column Monday in the Washington Post's online edition and I had to read it a second time to be sure I wasn't hallucinating. Cohen was calling for those responsible for judging Saddam Hussein to let him live...

Through a glass darkly (12/16/03)
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!" The words Paul Bremer, American proconsul in Iraq, spoke Sunday just may go up there with "Don't give up the ship." Okay, so that may be hyperbole -- but they will be repeated often enough in the next few weeks that for many they will always be remembered when looking back on this in years to come. ...

Through a glass darkly (12/11/03)
It's hard to find a time more polarized than right now. People have staked out positions that they defend with a ferocity rarely seen outside of a wild animal park. Right or left, Republican or Democrat, secular or religious, it makes no difference which side people are on, whatever the cause, people are championing said causes with more ardor and passion that ever...

Through a glass darkly (11/25/03)
I have a hard time sometimes figuring out the simple things. You would think things like the nature of the human soul or how far is up would be what tripped me up but I don't worry about those things. They are things I can't change and if I can't change it why worry about it?...

Through a glass darkly 10/16 (10/16/03)
"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. . . But let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm, for the safety of our people and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him." President G. ...

Through a glass darkly 10/7 (10/07/03)
Probate judge George Greer has sentenced Terri Schindler-Schiavo to death by starvation. Her crime? Being defenseless. Michael Schiavo, Terri's husband, doesn't want his wife to live. She has been under treatment for 10 years following a mysterious collapse at her home. ...

Through a glass darkly (09/02/03)
A lot of people complain about comparing apples and oranges. I usually don't have a problem with it, they are both round and approximately the same size and weight, call them both fruit and forget it. For a comparison to be really different compare apples and atom bombs, the two have nothing in common. ...

Through a glass darkly 8/12 (08/12/03)
"Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half." -Plato, The Laws "If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind." -John Stuart Mill Herman Janks, a friend of mine, a philosopher and author, is at fault for the nature of my column this week. ...

Through a glass darkly 8/5 (08/05/03)
I read many opinion columns through the week, trying to get a sense of others' take on things. One I never miss is Jimmy Breslin, who writes in Newsday. Breslin writes with grace and an evident love of the language that shines through in each sentence he pens. ...

Through a glass darkly 7/29 (07/29/03)
Marshall McLuhan is a name unfamiliar to most people under 40 or so. Maybe they heard something in school about him but were never really taught who he was or why his work was important. Perhaps they recall phrases like "global village" or "The medium is the message" but have never delved any deeper into his work. ...

Through a glass darlky 6/27 (06/27/03)
I've been following the brouhaha over the University of Michigan quota case. Left wing ideologues praise the university for its policy of giving certain minority groups, but not others, special consideration when applying for admittance to that institution. ...

Through a glass darkly 6/13 (06/13/03)
In a move on par with broken treaties with various tribes in the 1800's, the brutal repression of the bonus marchers in the 1930's and the internment of Japanese-Americans in the 1940's the Supreme Court has turned its back on America's veterans who were promised free medical care and who have been denied it since 1995. ...

Through a glass darkly 5/18 (05/18/03)
According to a recent Associated Press article, Sinead O'Connor is planning to retire from music and teach religion to children. I'm not making this up; she actually announced that she wanted to learn how to minister to others. I think I'll check with the weather service and see whether Hades has had a cold snap. ...