Archive By Section - Columnists

Memories are the true trophies of the Pinewood Derby

In the universe of parenting young children, January is a dead zone of dreadful nothingness. Christmas gifts break or worse - become obsolete - cabin fever sets in, kids start fighting and dads suddenly find business trips to Scottsdale or San Diego. Clinicians long ago came up a clinical diagnosis called Seasonal Affective Disorder - SAD - which is translated to "get me out of here." I read where experts have noted that other mammals figured out the best way to cope with this - go find a cave and sleep for three months.

January 24, 2016 | Matt Keenan | Columnists

More Exploitation of Students

Yes, I hung up on an interview subject live on the air during my afternoon radio show. She was a spokesweasel for a website abetting prostitution who is paid to insist it isn't a website abetting prostitution.

January 24, 2016 | Rick Jensen | Columnists

The White Actors Matter Academy Awards

"Black Lives Matter" - except in Tinseltown.

January 24, 2016 | Michael Reagan | Columnists

The Typo that Bloated a Nation

For decades Americans have been laboring under a misconception that has fueled the growth of Jenny Craig, stretched spandex to the limit and turned people-watching at the mall into a vaguely unsettling experience.

January 22, 2016 | Michael Shannon | Columnists

Fear-Free Veterinary Clinics: Barking Up The Right Tree?

According to ABC News, a growing number of veterinarians work in "fear-free" clinics.

January 22, 2016 | Danny Tyree | Columnists

The Real State of the Union

In his last State of the Union Address, that renowned weaver of uplifting platitudes, President Barack Obama, crocheted his constituents one final quilt of bittersweet melancholy to remember him by. Not a victory lap so much as someone pulling his arms inside the chains preparing to dismount a swing over a crocodile pit.

January 21, 2016 | Will Durst | Columnists

When Peace Breaks Out With Iran...

This has been the most dramatic week in US/Iranian relations since 1979.

January 21, 2016 | Ron Paul | Columnists

Democrats Have Their Own Birther Movement

There was a time not so long ago when self-professed "liberals" and "progressives" applauded each other's superciliousness by demonizing every conservative who dared question the birthplace of Barack Obama.

January 20, 2016 | Rick Jensen | Columnists

A Big Dish of Cronyism

Some companies try to make honest profit by selling goods and services to customers in the marketplace, and some find it easier to cozy up to big government with campaign contributions and lobbying to secure special favors. Few are so blatant and shameless about it as Dish Network, whose CEO Charlie Ergen is not only notoriously litigious, but is constantly currying political influence to win special favors, especially from his company's regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

January 20, 2016 | Phil Kerpen | Columnists

Political correctness taking over Philly

I'm reading "A Prayer for the City," Buzz Bissinger's classic book about Ed Rendell and his fight for the soul of Philadelphia, and this passage quoting the former mayor jumped out at me: "Everything that goes on is a power struggle between black politicians and white politicians, and it isn't because of what's good for the citizens. It's about who controls what project. I'm so fed up with the blackmail stuff that goes on I could just scream. I could just take a machine gun and shoot'em all."

January 18, 2016 | | Columnists

Ted Cruz made Donald Trump look good

There's no point in parsing all the verbal volleys in the latest Republican debate, which one again was the equivalent of a Michael Bay action flick, a blustering bludgeoning macho entertainment that pummeled the cognitive intellect and reduced one's brain to the consistency of mixed nuts.

January 18, 2016 | | Columnists

Sudden Jihad Syndrome's Related Pathology

Most of us with a cable, newspaper or Internet subscription are familiar with the 21st Century's global epidemic: Sudden Jihad Syndrome. First identified outside the laboratory by Daniel Pipes, the disease is typically confined to males.

January 17, 2016 | Michael Shannon | Columnists