Category Archives: Commentary

I just signed a contract to install an array of solar panels on my roof that eventually will give me free electricity. But don’t call me an environmentalist. Solar energy makes sense for me because the sun shines 330 days … Continue reading →

I’ve been taking an academic interest in the public reaction to the Obamacare rollout. (It’s academic at this point because my Medicare/Tricare coverage has not changed so far.) I’ve always been curious about how people behave in groups, and my … Continue reading →

So the new health insurances exchanges for Obamacare have been plagued by computer problems. Is anybody surprised? Government agencies are not good at running consumer-oriented computer systems. When the feds take on a project as big as Obamacare we tend … Continue reading →

I finally cancelled my landline telephone service. My local phone service has been deteriorating and the cable company made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. This is a big step for me because I was a phone company guy for … Continue reading →

My heart goes out to the parents of Trayvon Martin. But I’m getting tired of being called a racist. I came of age during the civil rights movement in the 1960s and raised my kids in a racially mixed suburb. … Continue reading →

Booo! Sequestration is coming! Our military will be hollowed out! Toddlers will be ejected from Head Start classrooms! Our food will immediately spoil in the absence of federal inspectors! All medical research will be scrapped! That’s what politicians and the … Continue reading →

One of the more sensible ideas emerging from the political soap opera of gun control is requiring a background check for everyone who purchases a firearm. That’s a great idea, but can we trust the government to do this? Not … Continue reading →

I can’t help getting cynical about the current political spasm of gun control. The horrific massacre of schoolchildren by a mentally unbalanced shooter unquestionably was a tragedy and demands action. So what’s the instinctive response? Make it harder for sane, … Continue reading →

The new right-to-work law in Michigan has been great political theater and may signal an interesting trend for government, politics and the American labor movement. President Obama’s election in 2008 was hailed as a victory for organized labor. His administration … Continue reading →

If a tree falls in the forest and the news media ignore it, does it make a sound? What constitutes news, and how that drives daily editorial decisions, is the subject of philosophic rumination in schools of journalism and daily … Continue reading →