Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated. Given Pakistan’s possession of nuclear arms, I’m forced to wonder what the implications of instability in that country will be for the surrounding region and, frankly, the world. (more…)

Oh yes, it’s that time again! I want to know what you got for Christmas! If you don’t celebrate Christmas, but you got gifts for Chanukah, Kwaanza, or any other gift-giving holiday in the last few weeks, that still counts. So, spill.

I’ll start us off: (more…)

I am a fan of writer and illustrator Colleen Doran. I also happen to believe her to be a very nice person, based on our online exchanges. Unfortunately, at one time I also believed something else about her that was told to me in passing by someone who probably heard it from someone else who heard it from someone else, etc. etc. I haven’t thought much about it since having heard it a couple of years ago, because it involved her personal life and that is of limited interest to me at most. After all, I don’t know her. The reason it resurfaced in my mind today is because I’ve learned that IT
ISN’T TRUE. (more…)

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve reduced my participation in other blogs recently. There are a number of reasons for this, but one of the most significant is that I’ve been lucky enough to attract a ”following” of very intelligent individuals. You set the bar quite high in terms of reasoned and civil discourse, and inspire me to attempt to do the same. This year my job is keeping me busier than ever before. With my time more limited than ever before, I try to invest what little I have in those activities which provide the highest “rate of return.” My loyal group of friends/readers provide that in spades. Thanks, all.

This one may be a little less than timely, but I wanted some time to really think about this before writing it. My mind, as it is wont to do, recently drew a connection between what to some might seem to be disparate and unrelated events: Mitt Romney’s “freedom requires religion” speech, and an attack on some Jewish youngsters by some putative Christians. (more…)

On Monday, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for running an illegal dogfighting ring. Hours later, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank, along with commentators on ESPN, were already talking about Vick deserving a second chance.

The man was just convicted! Maybe we could, y’know, let him pay the piper for blowing his first chance before we talk about whether he deserves a second one?

OK, let me get this straight: current intelligence suggests Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program, but this doesn’t contradict Bush’s dire warnings about the danger posed by Iran because it proves they could do it if they wanted to.

Good Christ, here we go again. (more…)