War! What Is It Good For? · 4 min read

Back when I was a pup I grooved to The Temptation’s tune asking, “War! What is it good for?” The answer they offered was “ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!” Now that I’m an old dog, however, I beg to differ. ...

The Lunatics We Deserve? · 5 min read

*Every age gets the lunatics it deserves.* - Roy Porter, British historian As the lunatic fringe in the United States captures more and more of what once was centrist territory, the question becomes, How could this happen? How could the Republican majority in the House of Representatives be immobilized by eight far-right representatives of their own party, canceling the vote of some 200 colleagues? ...

Ironic, Isn't It? · 7 min read

Irony did not disappear along with ironing boards. Why, just today my brain was wrinkled by the ironical. It began with the reminder that this is the International Day of Peace, a global observance each September 21st declared by the United Nations to strengthen the ideals of peace. ...

On Checking My Assumptions at the Door · 5 min read

Since childhood, I’ve know that “a pint is a pound, the world around.” Right? Teachers explained that a pint is 16 ounces, and 16 ounces is a pound, ergo 1 pint = 1 pound. Simple. Memorable. But of late, as I’ve begun to question more and more of my long-held assumptions, even this pint/pound parity has come into question. There were two unexamined assumptions upon which this “truism” was based—that the medium being measured is water, and that the measure is in fluid ounces. ...