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 →

I am doing something this week just the way I do it every year around this time. You see, this is Masters week, the time when the best golfers in the world fly their private jets to Augusta, Georgia and do their best to tame the Augusta National Golf Course. And this week, I am … Continue reading Hate and Love – The Masters →

We now know that Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (and a woman who cannot even accurately spell her own first name) was very active in the attempt to overthrow the legitimate election of President Biden. She exchanged texts with the White House advocating ways to undermine the results. This has … Continue reading At Home with Ginni and Clarence →

Dear Mr. Barr:  I haven’t missed any of your various appearances on the media as you promote your new book. I simply can’t get enough of you. Your descriptions of the wonderful things you did as Attorney General are so compelling. Your explanations of why everything you did was so perfect makes my heart tingle. … Continue reading Dear Mr. Barr →

The idea of “sacrifice” is ancient and pervasive. It can range from the slaughtering of animals to please the gods to the bunting of a baseball to get a man over to third (although today, there are probably more animals sacrificed than there are bunts). Sacrifice is described well in the philosophy of pragmatism. One … Continue reading Thanks, Ukraine. →