In Paul Simon’s song “The Only Living Boy in New York” (It’s an absolutely fantastic song, by the way.) there’s the line, “I can gather all the news I need on the weather report.” Truer words have never been sung. I made the mistake of reading a couple of articles on the January 6th hearings…
I have a weird relationship with satire. I love the idea of it, but I rarely like satire anymore when I read it or watch it. I think there are a couple of reasons why it leaves me cold. First, it gets dated too quickly. If you watch a 20-year-old Saturday Night Live sketch about…
I’ve been following the news about the protests in Iran, mostly because police brutality is a subject I’m interested in and write about regularly. But it’s been hard to discern exactly what’s going on there because of the breathless way that American news commentators have talked about them. One phrase that’s continually thrown around is…
I used to be a climate change optimist. Not a naive optimist, mind you, just an optimist. I wasn’t expecting a silver bullet or anything. I thought tackling the problem would be difficult and people would have to sacrifice quite a bit, but I thought it was doable. Over the last few years, I’ve become…
Over the past few weeks, the Supreme Court has handed down one incredibly awful decision after another. This has gotten the Democrats and everyone on the left distraught and flailing around for things to do. I agree that we need to do something, but I have to admit to being baffled by the suggestions being…
I’ve never thought of myself as patriotic. I do have a certain affection for the United States, but only because it’s my home. I’ve long recognized that there are dozens of other countries I could have been born in where my life would be about the same or better. The whole “greatest country in the…
Dear Sirs, As I’m sure you’re all aware, gas prices are currently at record highs. The president is asking for a three-month federal gas tax holiday to try to help. The proposal would save the average driver $0.18 per gallon, and diesel drivers $0.24 per gallon. This proposal is a huge mistake and I want…
I’ve had a long running debate with myself whether Lincoln was right to fight the War Between the States. Part of me feels like what was the free states would have been better off if they just let the slave states go. Another part of me worries about the humanitarian nightmare that would have resulted…
Over the weekend, a bipartisan framework for “gun safety” legislation was announced. It contains four things that probably won’t make any substantive difference but are better than nothing: Encouraging states to adopt “Red Flag” laws, closing the “boyfriend loophole”, enhancing the review process for buyers under 21, and clarifying what it means to be a…
A while ago, I wrote this piece: Guns and Mental Illness | Nutmegger Daily – Quality writing on many topics. I’d be happy if you read it, of course, but it covers two main points. First, it talks about the ubiquity of mental illness. Virtually everyone, at one point or another, struggles with their mental…
