The last time we had a government shutdown, nearly 18 years ago, it lasted 21 days. Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan seem to think the shutdown is not going to end soon: Putting aside the rhetoric, Boehner and Obama have not spoken since a brief conversation Monday evening and Boehner and Reid aren’t speaking either…. Continue reading
Post Category → Policy
Faith and the GOP
As we careen toward a government shutdown, I want to briefly address a related issue: the GOP and its obsession with faith. It is not a bad thing to have faith. I tend to think it grants people time for self reflection. But, the Republican party claims to be a party of religious people and… Continue reading
Ted Cruz and his Not Filibuster
Senator Cruz accomplished his goal with his not filibuster: catapulting himself to the top of the list of Republican 2016 Presidential nominees. He spoke for twenty one hours not citing any coherent reasons for not funding Obamacare. He actually had another hour where he could have stayed to speak but he had to leave so… Continue reading
Poverty
Welfare is a great talking point for Republicans. “It’s my money and I want to keep it! It’s socialism!” Great. Keep going with that. By the way, do you believe in social security? Do you complain when you receive that check each month? That’s socialism. You should probably return it. An article in TownHall discusses how… Continue reading
The Ultimate Punishment has No Place in a Flawed Justice System
The United States justice system is flawed. Period. Show me someone who truly believes that no one in this country has ever been wrongfully convicted and I will show you someone with no concept of reality. Wrongful convictions happen all too frequently. Witnesses are confused. Prosecutors withhold evidence. Defense counsel is inadequate. The jury doesn’t… Continue reading
Terry Jones Arrested
The controversial Gainesville, Florida, pastor was arrested Wednesday with 2998 kerosene soaked copies of the Qur’an in his pickup truck bed. According to his website, he planned to burn all copies in the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday. I guess he had a lot of s’mores to make. Mr. Jones is a hateful, spiteful individual… Continue reading
Forced Association
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Gay marriage is not legal! You can’t force me to accept gay marriage, that’s a violation of my Constitutional rights! I have the right to associate or not and I don’t want to associate with those people! I’m certain you have heard those or similar comments at some… Continue reading
Florida 49
I live in suburbia. I am made fun of by several friends quite religiously. Many of them know I spent many years living in Chicago and wonder how I could go from such an urban area to such a non urban area overnight. Let me tell you, it took some getting used to, along with… Continue reading
Drinking to Sophistication
The Orlando City Council was set to vote Monday on a proposed ordinance to extend alcohol service at downtown bars by one hour on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The City Council decided to postpone that vote but let’s take a look at its implications. Many cities allow alcohol service well into the night. When… Continue reading
Who Let Justice Scalia Out Again?
Justice Scalia is a brilliant man and no one can argue with that. But, he holds some rather antiquated viewpoints and he is not quiet about expressing those views. Last week, Justice Scalia spoke to a group of people in Montana: In an apparent reference to the court’s recent decisions on gay marriage and benefits… Continue reading