I am a retired navy commander. I retired in 1994 just after the Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy was begun. I thought it was insufficient then and I thought the reasons for taking such a half-baked (read another word there) stand was a little brass short of what it should have been. I also heard lots of reasons (and some of those are being repeated now by such people as John McCain) that sounded remarkably familiar.

When I first entered the Navy women did not have pants in their uniforms, they had t… Continue

A warrant on the ballot for March's Town Meeting in my town requested that we as a town vote as to whether or not to request that the NH State Legislature put to vote a constitutional definition of "marriage". This is part of a larger effort by those opposed to Gay Marriage in our state, the Let NH Vote campaign. (that's a link to a news article, not their website. I'm not linking to them, you can Google. Or Bing, as my friend Cynthia does.

As I understand it, the law requires the signatures of… Continue

OK, I paraphrased a quote about Mexico, but it fits Haiti also. Here's another, from Lily Tomlin
"No matter how cynical I get, I just can't keep up".

I know the the US will kill for profit, but watching people dying for lack of aid, while US troops prevent civilian planes from landing and stockpile needed food and water in the airport, instead of getting it out to the people, is a new low in horrifying eye opening reality.

Americans, used to giving up their own rights, freedom, privacy and dig… Continue

Over the weekend, I posted a link on my Facebook page to a Keith Olbermann commentary on the SCOTUS decision that was issued on January 21, 2010. Now, I'm not a fan of Olbermann as a general rule, but I found what he had to say pretty much… Continue

As we move into a new decade, I can't help looking over my shoulder at all the things I would like to leave behind.

VIOLENCE: Number One - Violence perpetrated against the female gender. Whether it is domestic violence behind closed doors in the United States, acid being thrown in the faces of young girls in Afghanistan trying to attend school, or rampant rape as a tool of war...It must end.

DYSFUNCTIONAL HEALTH CARE: I would like to discard health care that doesn't take into acc… Continue

I publish (with some friends as writers) an online magazine, the Bull Shoals Beacon, for my local conservative Arkansas Ozarks community. In it I write a self-proclaimed liberal opinion column once a week. I wrote the following post to make my perspective clear to those who read the column. I have not posted here since the election but I with this I would like to start again.
>>>>>>

Yes I am. You might as well know it.… Continue

Here are thirteen of my "Obamic" impressions, for what they're worth:

First of all, I hope people can separate what they think of Obama--either his track record or the man himself--from the historical fact of his presidency.

Second, I can't even imagine how much pressure he feels to be the best for fear that he may ruin the chances for another black candidate.

Third, I never thought he was the "Messiah" as some did, so I never expected him to be super-human. Some people are getting disenchant… Continue

I woke up on Thursday morning in… Continue

Thanks to the Supreme Court ruling today on corporate investment in political campaigns, Americans may look forward to election seasons peppered with corporate ads promoting various candidates for Congress and the Presidency. The theory that corporations should be granted the same First Amendment rights as individuals when it comes to speaking on political candidates is causing quite an uproar across the country. From irate us… Continue

Okay, so we can safely assume that none of us are all-too-happy that the misogynistic, daughter-sellin', waterboard-lovin', nudie-posin', homophobic, teabaggin' birther has stolen Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. Fine, he was elected, even if some of the ballots were pre-filled with his name. But how do we get health care reform through the Senate? Nancy Pelosi has already stated that there is "no going back to the drawing board," but if the filibuster-proof majority is gone, where do we Dems go from… Continue