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This category contains 11 posts

Letter to Nikki Haley, Republican Leadership Institute, Revised and Updated

March 11, 2020 Ambassador Nikki Haley c/o The Leadership Institute 1101 N. Highland Street Arlington. VA 22201 Re: Contribution to the (Republican) Leadership Institute Dear Madam Ambassador: I have received your letter regarding a contribution to something called the Leadership Institute. In the interest of full disclosure, I have been a Republican for more than … Continue reading

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Healthcare

  “America’s healthcare system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system” Walter Cronkite, CBS TV Journalist   During the Covid-19 virus pandemic, concerns have been raised over government mandates to wear masks and get vaccinations. Those concerns have affected most of our institutions including the military, schools, businesses, sports, and more. The objections are usually … Continue reading

The Right to Bear Arms and the Right to Own Guns

“When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation” — Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #16   A simple reading of the Second Amendment in its historical context and using eighteenth century semantics, reveals pretty clearly that it means what it says. The right granted no longer exists; at least not … Continue reading

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Dilemma

U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 4:  “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office  on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”   In an interview with the Washington Post on March 11, 2019, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this … Continue reading

Pondering Pogo’s Enemy

Pondering Pogo’s Enemy – One Op-Ed at a Time NOW AVAILABLE   If you are interested in Essays, Commentary, Current Events, Social Issues, Political Issues, Democracy, Governance, National Security, Environmental Issues, Economics, Military, or History, this book may be of interest to you. Available for order online and from local bookstores in print and eBook … Continue reading

The Paradox of Robotic Labor

Amid the shrill and irritating noise of politics these days, there have been a few news stories reporting on the progress of robotics; especially robotic cars. Robots are just one of the engineering outgrowths that are part of Artificial Intelligence and high tech automation systems. Besides cars, their applications run the gamut from the military, … Continue reading

SETI’S Mission Impossible

. “There is every reason to believe that Mars and other planets are inhabited. Why should the earth be the only planet supporting human life? It is not singular in any other respect.” – Albert Einstein quoted in the Daily Mail, 1920 . Well, the jury’s out on whether there is life on Mars. It’s … Continue reading

You Can Only Get Something From Nothing If Nothing Is Something*

“Ex nihilo nihil fit” (Out of nothing comes nothing) Parmenides, 2,500 years ago   Notwithstanding a few creationists out there, I think we can all agree that the universe existed long before we humans arrived on the scene and that it will continue to exist long after we’re gone. This being true, then we can … Continue reading

Some Thoughts on the George Zimmerman Affair

“I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will  not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.     Well, the trial of George Zimmerman is over. Kind of. It lingers on, especially … Continue reading

Response to the “Angry New Jersey Housewife”

(As an homage for the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11, here is an essay I wrote on September 30, 2007.) Some time ago, I received, along with who knows how many other people on the internet, an e-mail, the subject of which was simply, “Angry New Jersey Housewife.” I don’t know where it originated, or how … Continue reading

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