A couple of weekends ago, my friend Tim Padgett took me out to shoot sporting clays. This is roughly a cross between skeet shooting and golf. You walk through the woods and stop at 14 stations, each of which has two hidden trap machines that toss clay targets in the air. You get three or … Continue reading Sacred Texts and Shotguns
Category: Public Affairs
Maytag Repairmen and Ponzi Schemes
Last week, I met my friend Jeff Bishop for early morning coffee at our local Starbucks. Jeff has a remarkable talent for making other people feel better about, well, pretty much everything. I’m tempted to say that he should bottle it and sell it. However, while that would make him wealthy, it also would make him … Continue reading Maytag Repairmen and Ponzi Schemes
Pin the Tax on the Donkey
The latest Time magazine arrived yesterday. John Roberts is on the cover, staring knowingly into the distance. He must be looking ahead to all of the Federal mandates that will be passed as a result of his ruling last week on the health care law. A few friends have asked me what I thought of … Continue reading Pin the Tax on the Donkey
It’s All Civil Unions to Me
My son and I had an interesting conversation the other day on the subject of gay marriage, which has been much in the news lately. He is of a generation for whom sexual orientation is an absolute non-issue. I come from a different time and have had to work my way there, which I think … Continue reading It’s All Civil Unions to Me
Security Theater
I thought I was done whining about airport security. Truly, I did. But some things worth whining about are also just too good not to share. I passed through O’Hare this week. When I got to security, there was almost no line at the ID checkpoint, but there was a 15 minute wait from there … Continue reading Security Theater
Long Showers and Racist Rants
I have a radio in my bathroom. It's tuned to NPR, which I generally find informative and reasonably balanced. I listen to it while taking showers that I can best describe as environmentally unfriendly in their duration. You now know far more about me than you ever wanted to, but it’s important for context. Last … Continue reading Long Showers and Racist Rants
Let’s Make a Deal!
A few more snide remarks and hairy eyeballs under my belt, I’m going to take one more shot at this healthcare thing, after which I plan to go back to whining about air travel. If you are healthy today, there are precisely three things that can happen to you over, let’s say, the next 12 … Continue reading Let’s Make a Deal!
Gravity – Addendum
In the few days since I published my post about the inevitability of a single-payer healthcare system, I’ve gotten a few caustic comments from some of my more conservative friends, and the hairy eyeball from some others, all of whom seem to think that I’ve fallen off the liberal deep end. I haven’t, at least … Continue reading Gravity – Addendum
That Gravity, She’s a Mean Little B%&*#!
A month or so ago, I had my appendix taken out. It’s impossible for me to know how much the hospital and assorted doctors will actually be paid for this, but the face value of the bills for that little adventure came to $25,000. That seems like a lot for what I actually experienced. On … Continue reading That Gravity, She’s a Mean Little B%&*#!
I of Newt, Smile of Mitt
Certain that I owe penance for something, somewhere, I recently watched an entire Republican Presidential debate. This one was the Newt and Mitt show. It was certainly less entertaining for the absence of Herman Cain, although you’ll never catch me saying that I privately relished the thought of watching today’s Republican Party have to choose … Continue reading I of Newt, Smile of Mitt
Carp Diem 