Archive By Section - Columnists
Do I need a permit for that bat?
HOLLYWOOD – God bless America, and how's everybody? Louisville Slugger announced it's making baseball bats out of harder wood this year for Major League teams. The bats will be tested as never before. This year teams will no longer buy their baseball bats at sporting good stores but instead at Mafia supply shops. Tulsa dentist Scott Harrington was busted Friday for using dirty instruments, setting off a hepatitis scare. His repeat business ...
Equal is as equal does
The nation held its collective breath and turned not just blue but a veritable rainbow of colors as the Supreme Court spent a goodly part of two days hearing oral arguments on gay marriage. Well, at least they were in the same room as arguments about gay marriage were oralled. In a position to eavesdrop on a series of gay marriage arguments, if they were of a mind to.
Rites versus rights
A colleague of mine quipped the other day that the only religion he believes in is his own. "Sure," I countered. "You piously believe in your own opinion."
Rites Versus Rights
A colleague of mine quipped the other day that the only religion he believes in is his own. "Sure," I countered. "You piously believe in your own opinion."
Churches: Time to Fight!
You can't win the fight if you don't put on the gloves. A punch-drunk, old heavyweight boxer knows that's a truism, but not the churches of America. The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state by a 52 to 47 margin in 2008 but has since been declared unconstitutional by federal courts. Fox TV, Rush Limbaugh and other talk-show pundits have weighed ...
Sample Some Popular Political Whines
The phone rings in a big warehouse in Oriskiny Falls, N.Y. "Is this Political Whines, Incorporated? " "Yep. Harry Schmidlap speaking. Welcome to the biggest collection of vintage whines anywhere. We have whines popular with Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, and independents." "I have no idea where to begin. Any suggestions? "Sure," Schmidlap says. "Do you want a Jewish whine?" "Yes." "Here's one: I want to go to Loehmann's." " I hope you have better ...
April Fools
The calendar says Monday is April first, but lately it seems that foolishness occurs year-round.
Hey, Is That Butterfly Spying On You?
Salon.com recently ran excerpts of Emily Anthes's book "Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up To Biotech's Brave New Beasts," and I may never look at national security the same way again.
Unlimited: The Cult of the Self
According to the Bible, the ancient Israelites strayed from worship of God into idolatry. Today, America has done the same- except rather than placing a golden calf upon an altar, we have erected a mirror.
Not the Devil, but Silver-Tongued
The devil is in the details. Maybe I'd better explain. As it goes, the hit History Channel show, "The Bible," was recently called out because the actor playing the part of Satan, Moroccan-born Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, looks eerily similar to President Obama. I don't think Obama is the devil, but he surely has one characteristic that old Beelzebub is known for: a silver tongue. See, many people think that if they met the devil in ...
Without reform, Medicaid expansion will bankrupt Texas
What's the catch? Whenever something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Our country, since the FDR era, has believed in entitlements as an earned benefit that serves as a safety net for all Americans. Unfortunately, those programs, created in the 1940s and only modestly changed since then, are unaffordable, promising more in benefits that the revenue they receive. This leaves two options: reduce benefits for future beneficiaries or increase revenue. To date, ...
It’s better to go to the source
HOLLYWOOD – God bless America, and how's everybody? Starbucks alarmed the food and beverage world Tuesday by announcing it's bought its first coffee bean farm in South America. They believe that this is the best way to get the best-quality coffee beans. The next day, Taco Bell annouced it will buy a horse farm. Carnival Cruises had another generator outage Friday causing toilets to overflow on a ship for the third time. ...
How not to honor St. Patrick
Ah, St. Patrick's Day is upon us. That means but one thing: time for Americans to over-celebrate the Irish tradition. I speak of the goofy Leprechaun hats, the gaudy green buttons and scarves and the propensity to drink excessive amounts of alcohol at fake Irish pubs while trying to be authentically Irish. Though I'm not entirely without guilt. Eight years ago in a gentrified section of Washington, D.C., I visited a fake Irish pub a ...
Rand Paul: GOP’s national salvation or doom?
A national political star is born. Kentucky's' Republican Senator Rand Paul became the political Justin Beiber of libertarians everywhere and a role model for GOPers who want to grab media attention by staging a dramatic "talking filibuster." And, suddenly, Republicans who had steadfastly resisted the idea of bringing back talking filibusters were falling all over themselves to get involved and praise it.
Rand Paul and the New Isolationism
The Republican civil war has so many factions, you need a scorecard to sort them out - tea partyers versus the establishment; conservatives versus moderates; gubernatorial wing versus congressional wing; religious rightists versus tolerants - and even the despairing Republican National Committee, in its newly released autopsy of the '12 campaign, says the party is "driving around in circles on an ideological cul de sac."
Articles by Section - Columnists
Will Obama Beat the 6-Year Itch?
If the 2010 elections weren't bad enough for Democrats, here comes the "six-year itch." With the exception of Bill Clinton's second term, the party that controls the White House loses seats in congress six years into a presidency. But there's a gathering sense among Democratic consultants who work on congressional campaigns that their party could buck the trend in 2014 for a number of reasons, not least because Barack Obama is finally fired up and ...
No-Fault Internet Addiction
Online chat host: Good morning, cyber pals. As you know, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the psychiatric "bible," is to be released this month. It will include "Internet-Use Disorder" - also referred to as Internet addiction - as a condition recommended for further psychiatric study. Our guest today is Dr. Adam Von Cybercruncher, America's leading authority on Internet addiction.
Droning On
Put on your tinfoil hats everybody. Or didn't you get the memo? Its paranoia time in America again. Maybe it's the spring that brings out the crazy in our legislators. Of course, that would assume a semblance of sanity the other three seasons, and nobody wants to bet anything more than lunch money on that proposition.
FCC Must Run Honest Auctions
"America's global leadership in mobile, and the strategic bandwidth advantage so many have worked hard to create, is being threatened by the looming spectrum crunch," recently departed Federal Communications (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski said.
Will George W. Bush and A.J. Clemente Get Mulligans?
When should you give someone a mulligan? Should you give a former President a mulligan for a good chunk of his 8 years in office? Should you give a young broadcaster a mulligan when he doesn't realize his mike is on and he says words more suitable for a Chris Rock routine?
Out of the Closet and into Identity Politics
I've never sought the spotlight.
Come on guys, keep those doors open
Sunshine Week, the national initiative by journalists to assure that sunshine illuminates every crevasse in the halls of officialdom, runs March 10-16. During that week, newspapers traditionally run editorials and columns extolling the importance of open government as it relates to our freedoms as Americans.
