Eternal punishment is the final destination of the wicked. Do we wish to put that price on a finite felony? I ask that question in order to ask another. This is because the question has come up more than once in my capacity as an employer: What is the purpose, in the hiring process, of […]

“[H]ave tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But, bear-like, I must fight the course.” ~Macbeth, William Shakespeare, 1606 Bear-baiting is a blood sport involving the encouragement/force of a dog and chained bear [chained to a stake by the neck or leg] fighting (baiting). … Bear-baiting was very popular in Europe from the 12th […]

December 14 Дорогой Борис, You asked for “3 or 5 sentences” on this article by Max Hastings, but it might take a few more than five sentences to address its points properly. First, I have to agree with Hastings that secession of certain states along red-blue ideological lines is possible, but not immediately likely. But […]

Disclaimer: I can’t speak for people of color and I don’t pretend to. But the recent critiques of Critical Race Theory have annoyed me to the point that, even though I am not directly affected by it, I cannot stay silent regarding the logical fallacies and illogical fault-finding with CRT. Here are my thoughts. I […]

I was reading Pres. Biden’s speech to joint session of Congress on Wednesday (4/28/21) and I came away with the impression that he’s a nice old man, but he’s not serious. Not serious and not up to the challenge of governing these Divided States of America. In his speech, Mr. Biden covered a lot of […]

LETTER TO BORIS† January 31 Дорогой Борис, Now that the election and insurrection are over, I feel it is safe to write to you. What must you think today of your adopted country? Surely you must believe we are ruled by madmen and madwomen? The thought has certainly crossed my own mind! It’s as if […]

LETTER TO BORIS† November 30 – the 185th birthday of Mark Twain Дорогой Борис, You say in your earlier email, after noting that ¾ of all Rembrandt paintings are forgeries, “it's always good to keep in mind that absolutely all the masterpieces of world music, painting and architecture were created UNDER MONARCHIES, and not under […]

LETTER TO BORIS† November 23 Дорогой Борис, I’m happy that you introduced me to Александр С. Грибоедов (Alexander Griboyedov), who was, in addition to being a playwright, poet and composer, an ambassador to Persia, serving Emperor Nicholas I. I was also pleased to discover a new (to me) Latin descriptor: homo unius libri, meaning “a […]

LETTER TO BORIS† July 23 Дорогой Борис, I see you have sent me a video of the Russian Army invading Italy with Italian masterpieces of opera in choral style. You point out that in this way, Russian agents secretly distribute militaristic ideas among all nations. Seeing the grateful Italian audience applaud this propaganda, supposedly intended […]

I grew up super-religious. ... And I’m now an atheist. And the reason why I’m an atheist is because of education. ... I made my own decision because I was empowered to do so.