Once again, the “winds of war” are beginning to gain strength, as  international relationships between Iran and the West (including Israel) continue to deteriorate at a rapid pace.   There is little doubt that the volatile and vociferous  leadership of  Iran has made a decision to develop and strengthen their military capabilities, and to pursue an aggressive course of action against  neighboring countries.   The imposition of economic sanctions against the Iranians by Western nations has done nothing to weaken the Iranian’s resolve to develop nuclear weapons capabilities, and have failed to …

This time of year in Pennsylvania is usually dark, snowy, and somewhat foreboding-looking. This year, however, has been a mild and surprising winter. The sky is bluer and the temperatures are moderate. Snow has only been a light blanket that quickly melted. Perhaps Al Gore was right about global warming. But when it comes to the seasons, I cannot help making analogies to life.
We have all heard about the Springtime of our lives and how quickly that becomes the Autumn of our years. I have never been one to hold …

As a young Navy man, serving duty aboard the U.S.S. Ticonderoga off the coast of Viet Nam in 1969, I’ll never forget the  feelings of pride and awe I experienced when told about the landing of two American astronauts on the surface of the Moon.  At that time, very few of us questioned why our nation would so feverishly pursue such an expensive and dangerous endeavor.  We simply knew that America had to beat the Soviets to the Moon in order to prove the superiority of American technology and  capitalism, …

Earlier this week President Obama delivered his third State of The Union address to Congress  since becoming President  in 2009.   To his credit, the President’s speech was an upbeat assessment of how much conditions have improved in America since the waning days of the Bush Administration; when the U.S. economy was losing 500,000 jobs per month, and the country was teetering on the precipice of total collapse.  Obama reminded his listeners that the U.S. economy has shown increases in employment for the last twenty-two months in a row, that the …

After watching the four Republican presidential candidates “duke it out” on stage last night in Tampa, I finally came to the conclusion that a vote for “none of the above” was probably the best course of action.  I realize, of course, that primary voters will not really be given the option of selecting “none of the above” on their ballots, but perhaps they should.  How else can the Republican Party get the message that none of the four remaining  candidates are presidential material, and that none of the candidates have …

HB56 empowers law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of individuals, which subject residents of Alabama – including countless U.S. citizens and non-citizens with permission to be in the United States – to racial profiling as well as unlawful interrogations, searches, seizures and arrests that violate the Fourth Amendment.

This law has devastated the immigrant community in Alabama. Under the provisions that are currently in effect, undocumented persons are unable to interact with the government—in any way and for any purpose. It has turned a significant class of people, effectively, into legal non-persons, subjecting them to a kind of legal exile. It has destroyed lives, ripped apart families, devastated communities, and left our economy in shatters.

“All things truly wicked start from an innocence.â€~~Ernest Hemingway
In 2009 eleven year old Jordan Brown, of Lawrence County, PA, was accused of shooting his father’s pregnant finance’ with a shotgun while she slept. Both Kenzie Houk and the child she was carrying died and Jordan Brown was charged with two counts of homicide, because Kenzie Houk was eight and a half months pregnant. Since that day, questions have arisen about Jordan Brown. What could have driven a child to such an act? Should he be tried as an adult or …

**The following is a guest post from our friend Tony, better known as Bluzdude, at Darwinfish2 . Bloggers make terrific friends, and we are honored to count Tony among ours. Thanks, Bluz, for this terrific post! Oh and the remotes, all five of them, are on the end table.**
 
Right off, I’d like to thank Rich and Cher for inviting me to invade some of their space. (I promise I’ll move out once I get back on my feet. It should only take a couple weeks. Seriously! Now where’s the remote?)
Cher …

We know that No Child Left Behind has been shown to be a failure in our schools. In June of 2008 I wrote an article in which I stated, “Teachers who have traditionally been able to imbue their students with a love of learning have been thwarted. The ramification is that tens of thousands of teachers are dropping out of the profession or opting for an early retirement. They have been demoralized and de-skilled. When teaching methods are mandated to be standardized, the impact on creative and innovative instruction is …

Over the last year the very small, but militarily powerful nation of Israel has watched cautiously as its neighbors have struggled with internal rebellions and regime changes.  Located in a region of the world that has been known for decades for  political instability and volatility, Israel has recently witnessed an unprecedented shuffling of the political deck of cards.  As a matter of national policy, the Israeli government has largely refrained from making public comments about the political affairs of its neighbors, and has avoided any kind of direct involvement in …

It  just seems as if watching the parade of Republican circus clowns, each trying desperately to be more extreme than the other, is rapidly becoming tiresome.  There is Mitt Romney, who wants to turn back to the clock to the  days of unregulated and unfettered capitalism; then there is Rick Santorum, who wants to turn the country into a theocracy while denying that racial discrimination is a problem in America; then there is Newt Gingrich, who thinks that the best way to do away with all progressive legislation is to …