Before I begin, let me give you a little personal background on myself. I am a gun owner. I own three shotguns, two rifles, one muzzleloader, and one handgun. I used to be a member of the National Rifle Association. At one point, I was an avid deer hunter, turkey hunter, and outdoorsman in general. I also used to think that to vote for a Democrat would be a vote that would endanger my right to own the guns I... Read more
Here we are again. Twenty-one dead in a mass school shooting in Texas, including 19 precious little children. All senselessly mowed down by a crazed man with an AR-15. Are you like me? Do you wish you were more shocked and outraged? The fact that this was not shocking is testament to the fact that this kind of thing happens in the United States of America way too often. WAY TOO DAMNED OFTEN! We should never become numbed or desensitized... Read more
A couple days ago, a friend sent me a link to a YouTube video of a Tennessee preacher named Greg Locke going on a political rant from his pulpit in front of a raucous and supportive congregation. I have taken the liberty of transcribing about a minute and a half of his vitriolic message below. Pardon the caps and all the exclamation points, but this guy was fired up and hopping mad, so I tried to capture his emotional state... Read more
With the recent announcement of leaked information, it appears that the Supreme Court is primed to overturn Roe v. Wade. The likelihood of many more states banning abortions seems to be imminent. No matter which estimates you use, it is very likely that half, give or take, of the states in the Union will immediately move to ban abortions should the Supreme Court follow through with what it seems to be preparing to do. One look at the map of... Read more
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter has put the issue of wealth in the forefront of my mind the last few days. In my opinion, the biggest problem facing our nation is income inequality. I say this because I believe that almost all our other problems are directly related to it. Name any hot-button issue, abortion, racism, election fraud, gerrymandering, taxes, education, immigration, etc., and a direct line can be drawn between it and income inequality. Income inequality is particularly relevant... Read more
I just finished watching Ken Burns’ latest work, a brilliant two-part documentary about Benjamin Franklin. As a long-time teacher and student of American history, Franklin’s life falls right into my wheelhouse of interest, so I went into this new retrospective armed with substantial prior knowledge about the subject. But as with all of Ken Burns’ films, this masterpiece got me to think about Franklin in ways I had never experienced before. It also opened doors for me to make direct... Read more
In case you missed it, in a Fox News interview with author turned politician, J.D. Vance, this past week, Tucker Carlson said that he was bewildered by the fact that the fathers of students weren’t storming into classrooms and “thrashing” teachers for “sexually grooming” kids in schools. You can’t see me right now, but I want you to know that I just took about a minute break from what I am writing just to let my opening sentence sink in—it... Read more
During the congressional hearings for Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Republican Senator Ted Cruz (Texas), brought into question the judge’s views on Critical Race Theory. He used several books that are used by the Georgetown Day School, a prep school where Jackson serves as a trustee, as examples of what he claimed were over-the-top examples of the indoctrination of children with radical ideology. One such book is called Antiracist Baby, written by Ibram X. Kendi (that very name must... Read more
I’m just back from a nice week of spring break vacation. My wife and I spent the week in the southeast. On our way home, we made some stops in some places I’ve always wanted to visit but hadn’t yet. One of those places was Greenville, South Carolina. I’d been told by several people that Greenville is a cool town with some great places to walk. I wasn’t disappointed. There is a great area where a waterfalls flows right through... Read more
Empathy Mining
Don’t let Dissociation Keep You from Standing for Women’s Rights
There’s an old story that is often used to show how easily we can adjust to things that are slowly doing us harm. The story goes that if you place a frog in a room temperature pot of water and then place the pot on the stove and turn up the heat, little by little, the frog will not notice the change until he’s been boiled alive. Scientifically speaking, that story is rubbish, frogs do notice when the water gets... Read more