Yearly Archives: 2009

Boneheads with Guns

This week, the National Rifle Association appealed to the Supreme Court a ruling that upholds Chicago’s ban on the ownership of handguns. A year ago, the court ruled that the District of Columbia couldn’t ban handgun ownership. The district, however, is a federal colony and the court’s ruling applied to federal law. The Chicago ban […]

Tuesday Night in a Small Room

Tuesday, the first day back to work after the holiday weekend and The English Beat was playing at Higher Ground. Dave Rap, my former colleague, calls and says we should go to the show because Dave Wakeling, another former colleague, leads the band. (In the early ‘90s, Dave Wakeling worked for Greenpeace on the west […]

Fiscal Fitness

Among the better pieces of advice I got from my dad was: “The only two things worth borrowing money for are an education and a house.” I took that advice. It took ten years to pay off the education; I’m still paying on the house. When I landed my first job as a newspaper reporter, […]

Catching Reality

In the 21st century, change in America happens from the bottom up. That’s a sad commentary on our national leaders. Barack Obama, who has moved the federal government more in the past four months than the previous 30 years, is still playing catch-up to where most Americans have long since been. A few weeks ago, […]

Like a Rolling Stone

“May you live in interesting times,” is supposedly an old Chinese curse. I doubt it’s really Chinese, but I’m becoming convinced on the curse bit. I like to keep up with the news, but I’m suffering from sensory overload: a huge economic crisis, what is on the verge of being labeled a global swine flu […]

Our Tortured History

The weird thing about the torture memos in the news this week is that I can’t stop thinking about Harry Potter. In those books, the bad guys – the wizards and witches that had been drawn to the Dark Side – make their case thusly: This isn’t about good and evil, it’s about power and […]

No Hope, Bad Dope

I am the measure of all humanity. My height is average. If you’re shorter than I am – well, sorry, you must have been the runt of the litter. If you’re taller – perhaps you should consider a career in pro basketball. My income is average. If you earn less than I do, it’s clear […]