I desperately hope that Donald Trump gets crucified (well, maybe not actually crucified – his followers already worship him – crucifixion will only make that worse). Having said that, I have another desperate hope – that the January 6 Committee can really prove what it is trying to prove. The “hearings” are trying to make … Continue reading My Plea to the January 6 Committee →

We are now into our July 4 holiday on the weekend following our Supreme Court’s uprooting of many of the rights that this holiday once celebrated. It was on July 4 in 1776, of course, that we declared our separation from those tyrannical rulers of England. Given the confluence of this holiday with the Supreme … Continue reading Happy Fourth, Chap →

John Adams is often quoted as having said, “We are a government of laws, not of men.” Well, this week John Adams was proven wrong. First there were the disclosures by the January 6 Committee about the efforts of the Loathsome Liar to undermine the basic election laws of the country. His own Republican appointees … Continue reading A Government of Laws →

The issue that the January 6 Committee is trying to answer is whether The Orange Menace knew that The Big Lie was a big lie when he was urging his supporters to believe it. If so, this means that he committed fraud. At some point, The Tinged Tyrant may even be brought to trial on … Continue reading Trump’s Defense Is “Stupid” →

I learned something about memory at my recent college reunion. A college reunion is, of course, a place to tell and re-tell the stories that we have all told and re-told many times. In fact, the same stories are often told and re-told many times at the reunion itself. People tell those stories the way … Continue reading A Reunion With Memory →

It’s all been said already, but here we go again. The massacre at the grade school in Texas this week was indescribably horrendous, one of those things that even infinitely more skilled writers than I cannot find adequate words to describe. So now that that’s out of the way, here are my words. There are … Continue reading Another Shot At Guns →

This is a look into a not entirely impossible future: [Face of news announcer on TV screen]  [Announcer] Good evening. This is Barry Baritone with your evening news., or, at least with the stuff they tell me to read to you. The big story tonight is the campaign promise kept by President Donald J. Trump … Continue reading Let’s Hope Not →

Nothing livens up a conversation more than the subject of abortion. More even than whether Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame. That’s been true for years, but this week you couldn’t get on a line at a McDonalds without hearing that subject being bandied about. So why should we be any different? As … Continue reading It’s More Than Abortion →

So now they are going to ban menthol cigarettes. I suppose that there are good health reasons for that. I’m not exactly sure why the health problem with “menthol cigarettes” emanates from the first word of that phrase and not from the second. It’s kind of like “war crimes.” It’s the wrong one of those … Continue reading A Different Kind of Cigarette Branding →

Dear Governor DeSantis: I am a big fan of your recent ban on those schoolbooks that convey the wrong message to the young impressionable minds of the children in your state. Those books clearly undermine the learning process, and if anyone knows anything about the learning process, it is the brilliant, insightful people who support … Continue reading An Open Letter to Gov. DeSantis →