Today the Supreme Court decided on Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services [HHS] et al v Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. et al. The histrionics over the decision is really beyond moronic, but it’s sadly what I’ve come to expect from our increasingly juvenile, teeth-gnashing, pop-eyed-with-rage culture. All I want to say is calm down…
What’s with guys named Tim Murray?
June 28, 2014
A story about a Republican congressional candidate named Tim Murray caught my attention. Tim is contesting the June 24 primary election for Oklahoma’s Third District. The winner was Representative Frank Lucas, a twenty-year incumbent who got 82 percent of the vote. I’ll let the Honorable Tim Murray explain in his own words why he’s contesting…
My meandering belligerence
June 19, 2014
About fifteen years ago, I used to listen to music on the radio. Easily the most annoying song in heavy rotation was “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen.” I couldn’t escape it. Someone produced a brilliant parody that I can’t find, but it contained the words “my meandering belligerence.” Someone must feel that way about my…
Johnny, I hardly knew ye
June 17, 2014
I got a friend request. When I clicked the avatar, Facebook told me that the person doesn’t exist. Johnny, I hardly knew ye. Everything’s off kilter. It’s called a “preference cascade.” The global preference right now is for insanity. That’s fine. I’ll watch from afar, emotionally speaking. Christ, I wish I could watch from afar…
Things I never did because I knew they’d kill me
June 13, 2014
Today I got a World War One postcard from Estonia. The envelope had a stamp on it that reminded me of the time I didn’t listen to the little voice in my head that warned me to not to be an idiot. I paid for not listening. The few times I ignored that voice, I’ve…
Hell is other people. In cars.
June 12, 2014
I used to dread vacations when Dad was in charge. His idea of taking time off as a family was to pile into the car at the crack of dawn, drive until lunch, eat, and then drive until sunset. And we couldn’t talk. As a teenager I discovored Jean-Paul Sartre’s famous quote “Hell is other…
Frigging dumb limbo mumbo jumbo
June 9, 2014
One of my favorite films is Altered States, starring William Hurt and Blair Brown. It’s about a man who searches for meaning and feels entirely cut off from everybody. I love Charles Haid’s epic rant that ends with, “I’m not going to listen to any more of your cabalistic, quantum, frigging dumb, limbo mumbo jumbo!”…