Monthly Archives: December 2003

The Meaning of Christmas

Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas; I hope vestigial Santa was good to you. Santa’s always been difficult to spot on Christmas, doing his work in the dark of night, but it seems the spry old elf is keeping a lower profile each year.
Down at the multiplex, Billy Bob Thornton portrays Santa as a drunken, [...]

The Elephant

“The elephant in the living room” is the phrase used to describe an issue too large to ignore, but one that is ignored anyway, because it is also too large to grasp. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the elephant in the living room of left politics in America. We sit around and drink our [...]

Look, a Monkey!

The Flying Karamazov Brothers juggling troupe performs intricate feats of throwing and catching, often with objects not designed to be thrown or caught. As a result, there are two or three awkward moments in each performance when the object of the juggle goes sailing past its intended target and crash-lands. At such moments, [...]

The New Rules

The day before Thanksgiving, the Bush administration announced it is changing the rule that governs the emission of the toxic metal mercury and other pollutants from utility-owned power plants. This rule change will – of course – allow coal-fired plants to keep belching 48 tons of mercury every year. Check the timing on [...]