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ARCHIVE
So, you've either read through every single word of the past six months of articles, or not one of the articles from the past six months interests you. Ok, I used that joke already. And, no, it wasn't funny then either. Here's the thing, though. The more articles I write, the more crap I have to put in this area to make it look all nice and balanced. Yes, some have commented that I take this same approach to the actual articles. I'd disagree with that, but that is a discussion for another time. Continuing... The articles to the left are older than six months. By now I may have changed my mind on many of these points... so don't hold anything here against me. I make this stuff up as I go along, for Christ's sake.
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BODY POLITIC
LIQUID LAWS AND AMERICA'S SECURITY TECHNOLOGY QUANDARY
The argument over new security technologies in America seem to always center around the proverbial "Big Brother Police State." However, this is not the paramount issue. The real issue is how our overly complicated and often "liquid" set of laws interacts with this new need for much more precise and flawless law enforcement technologies. And that is where a lot of our anti-terrorism efforts will break down.
Originally published in:
> Philadelphia Daily News
LIFE AND HOW IT'S LIVED
DNA SCREENING AND THE FEAR OF EQUALITY IN THE JOB MARKET
The Chicago Bulls explore DNA screening for future health risks of one of their players, and some day such testing may be used for every job- minimum wage on up. Scary? The debate exposes some cultural faults of our society- where the issues of civil liberty may be the reverse of the final results.
Originally published in:
> Orlando Sentinel
> United Press International
BODY POLITIC
THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT: A CAUSE WITHOUT AN ISSUE
In the national debate on the war in Iraq, there has been surprisingly little debate on, well, the war coming from the anti-war crowd. Not only is this not helping their own cause, it is also rather dangerous- as the lack of a real debate on the real issues implicitly assures conformity to the Administration's side of such issues.
Originally published in:
> The Daily Californian
MANIFESTO DU JOUR
ATLAS MISLED: UN BOOK EXPOSES FLAWS OF ENVIRONMENTALIST ARGUMENT
The UN recently released an atlas "revealing the global devastation of man." Upon a closer look, what is included in the book does not help prove man's destruction- as media reviews have gleaned. However, what is not included in the book does illustrate where the modern environmentalist contention logically falls short.
Originally published in:
> The Christian Science Monitor
> The Oregonian
> Pakistan Link
> Intellectual Conservative
MANIFESTO DU JOUR
LEARNING FROM THE BRITISH STOIC REACTION
Americans could learn a little something from Britons in the wake of their recent terrorist attacks. Shirking rampant flag waving and tacky memorials, a little healthy indifference and stoicism may actually go a long way in the real psychological fight against terrorism.
Originally published in:
> New York Newsday
> Philadelphia Inquirer
BODY POLITIC
LUNACY WITHOUT A PLAN: TODAY'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For the Democratic Party, Howard Dean's raging lunacy is not the problem.. Howard Dean's raging lunacy being a problem is the problem. Democrats should take a page from the GOP playbook: learn how to use your lunatics well.
LIFE AND HOW IT'S LIVED
MY ROBOTIC VACUUM'S CULT OF MYSTERIOUS INTELLIGENCE
What this mechanized contraption has inadvertently taught me about everything culture has ever really wanted from proverbial Gadgets Of The Future, and what these gadgets truly represent to us.
MEDIUM AND MESSAGE
THEY'RE SNATCHING UP OUR PRETTY, WHITE WOMEN! FILM AT ELEVEN.
The saga of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is more than a hoax, it's the perfect representation of how the misdirection of priorities in the media is as dangerous as the misrepresentation of facts.
Originally published in:
> Kane County Chronicle
ECON/RECON
ENVIRONMENTALISM'S PERILOUS IGNORANCE OF THE FREE MARKET
Environmentalists are crying for faster adoption of alternatives to oil-consuming products and eco-friendly corporate practices- but, as always, through a flawed process that ignores their own responsibilities within a free market system.
MANIFESTO DU JOUR
WHAT'S WRONG WITH A LITTLE CLASSISM?
Is it really the division between the haves and have-nots that is the problem, or is it merely the faulty characteristics in which we decide the haves and have-nots? Maybe classism is actually a good thing when applied correctly.
LIFE AND HOW IT'S LIVED
THE CHILDIFICATION OF AMERICA
In an effort to supposedly protect children from the theoretical horrors of American culture, we're turning ourselves into children- our laws now becoming our collective parent.
SPORT AND/OR LIFE
STEROIDS, STATISTICS AND THE AFFRONT TO THE AMERICAN DREAM
Baseball's steroid controversy will not only tarnish the reputations of a few players, but quite possibly the sport's previously immortal place in American culture. The following is a case for eradicating all statistical milestones of the past 10 years, else risking the future meaninglessness of The American Pastime.
BODY POLITIC
RIGHT, WRONG AND WHY THE LEFT LOST
Conservatives aren't winning because more Americans believe in their worldview. Its because their worldview is based in right versus wrong. There's no reason the Left can't- and shouldn't- follow the same approach.
MANIFESTO DU JOUR
IT'S THE MATH, STUPID
Is a simple understanding of economics and math really that much to ask for?
BODY POLITIC
WHAT'S MISSING FROM TORT REFORM ARGUMENTS: REFORM
Tort reform is not about frivolous lawsuits. It's not about the costs of medical malpractice insurance. A sincere reformation of the legal system is indeed necessary, but we're missing the point in which to start.
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BODY POLITIC
CLAMORING FOR SCANDAL, SELLING AMERICA SHORT
Is the Plame/Libby/Rove controversy really news? Like Lewinsky and Watergate before it, we find the media- and its viewers- clamoring for scandal in an attempt at instant judgment of right or wrong on government policy. However complex events such as wars, economic decisions, and the like often take years for the results to be seen. Thus, the media often moves to replace such judgment with the simpler judgment on more benign issues like white lies and political manipulation.
Originally published in:
> Chattanooga Times Free Press
> East Valley Tribune (AZ)
SPORT AND/OR LIFE
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS AND THE PERIL OF AN AVERAGE CULTURE
The evolution of the baseball playoffs- where now even losing teams now have a shot at winning- tells us a lot of about our culture. From the upbringing of our children, through our skewed vision of success as adults, we're a culture that is increasingly permissive of "averageness." How will this fare in a world where competing cultures are forced to be much more crude in their determination of winners and losers?
Originally published in:
> New York Newsday
> St. Louis Post-Dispatch
> Louisville Herald (OH)
> East Valley Tribune (AZ)
BODY POLITIC
NEW ORLEANS DISASTER: A TEST OF CULTURES, FAILED.
Taking a look at the disaster in New Orleans relative to the potential aftermath of the proverbial terrorist attack on our soil, what we find is frightening: a nation completely unprepared to handle a widespread, planned catastrophe. However, part of the problem is because we have the wrong idea as to what "preparedness" really means.
Originally published in:
> Fort Worth Star-Telegram
BODY POLITIC
ROVE AND PLAME: IT'S NOT ABOUT A LEAK
As the pundits take turns deifying and then roasting Karl Rove for his supposed involvement in the Valerie Plame leak, there is a much more important (albeit less sexy) issue at play here: Why was a supposedly "secret" CIA agent ever that close- even though personal relationships- to the ever ugly game of partisan politics?
Originally published in:
> United Press International
> Pahrump Valley Times
> The Independent (Santa Barbara)
> Monsters and Critics
> Macon Area Online
> The Record (NJ)
LIFE AND HOW IT'S LIVED
OUR DESIRE TO BE SICK: THE HEALTHCARE PARADOX
Do we really have a healthcare crisis in America? Everyone from the poorest citizens to multi-national companies seem to agree that we do, and that the only question is who should pay for it. The real question, however, is not how to pay down the healthcare crisis, but why Americans are so fixated on being sick.
Originally published in:
> Impact Press
> The Daily Californian
MEDIUM AND MESSAGE
THE PARADOX OF REALITY TELEVISION FAME
The debate on the meaning of reality television seems to be stuck on the "individual," often heralded (or chastised) for bringing "fame" to the less idealized persona. However, the critics have got the actual revolution wrong. What it has really done is made famous, and bastardized somewhat, the "situation." This is a dramatic difference from nearly every other pop culture phenomenon, where the "individual" is the center of what we consider fame.
Originally published in:
> Flagpole Magazine
LIFE AND HOW IT'S LIVED
OUR LADY OF THE SALT STAIN, PATRON SAINT OF THE FUTURE OF AMERICA
We humor ourselves with the masses flocking to see a vision of The Virgin Mary in a salt stain under a Chicago expressway, but is this affair also a reflection on the state of religion in America? If so, what does that foretell about America's future position on the ever-changing world stage?
LIFE AND HOW IT'S LIVED
THE LIFE EXPECTANCY ENDGAME
Or: How to win every argument dealing with the physical, mental or moral health of Americans.
BODY POLITIC
AMERICA'S RELIGIOUS-POLITICAL CONTRADICTION
The resurgence of religion into America's common discussion could be considered anything from humorous to dangerous. In actuality- and most importantly- the interjection of religion into political discourse is an ignorance of what religion truly is, and what role it is meant to play.
MEDIUM AND MESSAGE
OBSCENITY, CENSORSHIP AND THE REVIVAL OF MOB RULES
A second-term right-wing administration once again is taking on obscenity, and once again the argument becomes whether or not harm is caused by certain images and words. But is it really the role of government, in a free society, to even consider such questions?
ECON/RECON
SOCIAL SECURITY AND TRUST
If we don't trust our own economy with our Social Security nest egg, we have much bigger problems than simple retirement surpluses and debts.
Originally published in:
> Joliet Herald News
MEDIUM AND MESSAGE
THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE BLOGGED
Why "The Blogosphere" is failing at truly revolutionizing mass media.
BODY POLITIC
TSUNAMI RELIEF AND TAX DOLLARS DON'T MIX
The US Government's involvement in aid for tsunami victims is being done for all the wrong reasons. And it continues a perilous precedent.
MEDIUM AND MESSAGE
THE DAMNED LIBERAL MEDIA
Its become fashionable to have the a mass media conspiracy against one's brand of politics. Unfortunately, media bias is more subtle- and more dangerous- than that.
BODY POLITIC
IRAQ: GOOD QUESTIONS LOST TO PARTISAN ANSWERS
Iraq is a mess. It's supposed to be. It's a war. But, what then are we fighting for, and what determines success?
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