In the wake of the U. S. missile strike on the Syrian air base believed to have been used to mount a chemical weapons attack, there is no lack of the usual debate about, “it’s right, it’s wrong; it’s good, it’s bad; we should have, we shouldn’t have.” Most of the discussion revolves around personal […]
A few days ago, I was directed to a YouTube video that prompted me to recall the danger, the unconstitutionality, and the uncivil nature of the practice called “civil asset forfeiture.” The first four minutes of the video featured President Trump and representatives of the National Sheriffs’ Association discussing the topic of asset forfeiture. The […]
I recently discovered a pamphlet in a pile of materials on my desk that was waiting to be sorted. The pamphlet contained the text of a speech given by former Nixon administration official, Constitution Party founder, and champion of the conservative cause, Howard Phillips. The speech, titled, “Under What Authority?,” was given as the keynote […]
When conservative talk radio host, Glenn Beck, announced he would not be voting for Trump, and suggested that, if Hillary wins, we can oppose her agenda in Congress, live to fight another day and work to elect a conservative in 2020, the right reacted in shock and horror, angrily contending, “the nation cannot survive Hillary!” […]
As the pundits pontificate, the politicians bluster and blather, and the American public eagerly awaits the opening of Presidential debate season, there are only two things missing from American Presidential politics: 1) A news media willing to ask the real questions that address America’s moral condition, the candidate’s guiding principles, and the rule of law […]
A friend recently shared a photo with me in an email that caught my attention and prompted me to ponder, once again, the matter of education. In the picture, a child is asking her mother: “Why do I have to go to school?” To which the mother replies: “So you can be molded into a […]
A couple years ago, while reading an article about some internal strife in my state’s Republican Party, I was surprised to read that, “the state GOP has a policy of not endorsing one Republican over another.” I had noticed that this seemed to be the party’s practice, but didn’t know it was an actual policy. […]
I expect we’ve all heard the phrase, “three coequal branches” used to describe the composition of our federal system of government. In fact, we’ve probably heard it so many times that we don’t even pay attention, we just accept it as fact and move on. But, is it true? Are the three branches of our […]
When we give our endorsement to someone or something, we intrinsically connect ourselves to the object of that endorsement and to the values which it embodies, thus lifting – or lowering – ourselves to the level of the entity we have endorsed. When we give our endorsement to something moral and virtuous, we elevate ourselves. […]
The Conservative Right seems to operate from a general assumption that things keep getting worse because liberals are in power and democrats win all the elections. However, I got curious and did a little research on the topic. I discovered that over the past 20 years, republicans have held 57% of the control of our […]
Certainly not all Muslims are terrorists who are going around blowing people up. In fact, many can be said to be living at peace with their non-Muslim neighbors. Some people contend that the problem is with just a few “extremists” who engage in acts of terror. Clearly, that was the view that George W. Bush […]
When the 2015-17 Washington state budget was finally passed back in June of this year, I heard boasts emanating from the Republican Party about how they held the line against democrats and managed to pass a budget without raising taxes. My first reaction was incredulity. My next response was to question whether I had been […]