Killer Drones: Glimpses of Nietzsche, Joni Mitchell, and America’s Legacy

By Mickey Walker – 02.24.13

Trying to make sense out of the latest bizarre events about how our thinking as a nation has changed I drift back to yesteryear before the near destruction of our Bill of Rights.  Wading through the battered pages of our Constitution, I see the corpses of habeas corpus, the right to privacy, the right to due process and a jury of your peers, and I shed a tear for what once was.  How did all this happen?  Has the fear of terrorism transformed us into a country of fearful strangers?  Have we become a Bubba nation whose purpose now is to expedite justice at the end of a gun barrel?

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CELEBRATE THE HISTORICAL "REVISIONISTS:" Part 1

By Harry Targ – 02.24.13

The first modern organized opposition to U.S. global expansion began with the war on the Philippines in 1898. The Anti-Imperialist League, with such distinguished spokespersons as Mark Twain, decried United States expansion to Asia, the Pacific, and the Caribbean. Later, critics of U.S. foreign policy, such as Eugene V. Debs, opposed President Woodrow Wilson’s decision to enter World War I in 1917. In the 1930s journalists and activists raised concern about the United States role in world affairs, particularly its seeming indifference to the rise of fascism in Italy, Spain, and Germany.

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Pope Resigns: Too Exhausted to Lead the Church Backwards Any Longer

By Donald B. Ardell – 02.24.13

We’ve been deluged with news about the pope lately. Why does the media obsess about a pope, anyway? I know there are about a billion Catholics worldwide and many millions in this country, but polls indicate most of them don’t pay much attention to the pope, so why should the rest of us who are not even Catholic? It seems the media devotes too much attention to pope stories. There’s not that much to cover, most of the time. How often do we need reminders that the pope today has called for prayers for peace, more goodness or an end to hunger, suffering, pestilence and/or gluttony, avarice and coveting one thing or another? Doesn’t nearly everyone want most of that sort of thing?

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February 14 Is a Great Day - Let’s Feature Charles Darwin as Part of the Celebration

By Donald B. Ardell - 02.17.13

I enjoy all holidays, and other days in between for that matter, but some special occasions inspire particularly good thoughts about an honoree whose life is recalled and celebrated.

Two of my favorite holidays are August 11 and July 18.

On August 11 in 1833, Robert Green Ingersoll was born in Dresden, NY. Not many Americans save those of the most ardent secular persuasive recognize this occasion as a holiday, take the day off and raise a toast in honor of “The Great Agnostic,” a colossal REAL wellness pioneer.  

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ELECTION 2015: PROSPECTS FOR THE COALITION

By Michael Faulkner - 02.17.13

However tempting it may be to do so, it is foolish to make predictions about the electoral prospects for political parties two years from now. Barring some dramatic breakdown that could precipitate it sooner than either of the coalition partners wishes, there will be no election until 2015. Were there to be an election now, it is likely that Labour, which enjoys a substantial lead in the polls, would win a parliamentary majority. Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats recognize this. Discontent is widespread in both parties and amongst coalition MPs disgruntlement has become a permanent state.

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Impress Casual Acquaintances While Alienating the Family

By Loren Adams - 02.17.13

It was the summer of 1957. Dad drives our family for a week at Yellowstone. First sights of geysers and thermal features are unforgettable. And we feed the bears from the windows of our ’55 Mercury. “Better than Disneyland,” we reflect.

The high altitude of the Yellowstone caldera guarantees cool nights even in summer. Logs in the fireplace are necessary to break the chill. Dad and Uncle Harvey gather firewood during the day before sundown when mosquitos swarm. We are all set in a cozy cabin at Old Faithful Village.

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