We originally published this in February 2017. We re-published in June 2017. We’re publishing it yet again because the issues with a border wall have not changed. There is still no identifiable need, and no justification for the cost. Now that it is being tied to legislation related to DREAMers it seems important to once … More What’s STILL Wrong with a Wall?
Originally posted on The View from the Armchair:
Is Columbus Day an appropriate holiday to celebrate? What about Indigenous Peoples’ Day, or Discoverers’ Day? What are we really celebrating today? Many of us seem to find celebrating Christopher Columbus, specifically, distasteful. We don’t appreciate his treatment of the indigenous peoples that he encountered (treachery, subjugation,…
This portion will discuss possible ways ahead to regulate guns in a way that minimizes risks, reduces the number of deaths, and maintains the right of individuals to own firearms as prescribed in the 2nd Amendment and subsequent court interpretations. THE GOAL IS NOT TO BAN AND CONFISCATE ALL FIREARMS. These are ideas … More Gun Control, Part Three
Part one dealt with myths and misconceptions. Part two was to be some suggestions. That will wait until part three. Part two will instead focus on disingenuous arguments and lies. There are many. I can’t promise to be as dispassionate about some of these lies. Lets’ dive in. Gun control advocates want to ban and … More Gun Control, Part Two
Although some believe now is not the proper time to discuss gun control, the increasing number and severity of major incidents suggests that this conversation should have taken place long ago. We will attempt to look at this as dispassionately as possible, though to be clear we believe that better regulation of firearms is necessary … More Gun Control, Part One
On Puerto Rico, I’ll leave political punditry to the professionals. (After yesterday’s #unpresidented comments, I just can’t find the energy or words to respond.) However, they still need help. Last week PBS published an article with links to organizations that are providing aid, and through which we can assist (if we’re not physically able to … More Peurto Rico Assistance
Originally posted on The View from the Armchair:
Is exercise of our rights to expression, speech and protest meaningful if the message is obscured? I ask because it seems that recent acts of protest – namely refusing to stand, or even kneeling during the playing of the national anthem – have been met with such…
“Bad” is a somewhat nebulous, relativistic metric, and it is overused. The word “bad” doesn’t always properly articulate where a thing or an action is on the relative scale of acceptability. Examples: A food item, when no longer edible, has gone bad. A poorly executed performance is bad. Shoplifting a small-end item is bad. … More What is “Bad?”
The Congressional Budget Office has not yet scored the new healthcare bill offered by Graham, Cassidy, Heller, and Johnson, and there has been a furious effort to push the bill through the Senate without complete scoring. While this might be perceived as an effort to avoid allowing debate with access to information that the sponsors … More Graham-Cassidy Healthcare Bill
The topic of climate change continues to be the subject of much debate. The debate, though, seems largely unwarranted. Experts in climate science are near unanimous in agreement that the current changes to the Earth’s climate are driven by increases in CO2 and other greenhouse gasses (gasses that trap heat), and the subsequent increases in … More Climate Science, Expertise, & Skepticism
