I think I’m going to make a go at reviving Unspun™. Sure, I already post my opinions — privately, usually — on my Facebook account. But I find myself sometimes longing for the ability to write commentary that doesn’t fit in so easily with the short bursts of conversation on Facebook, and I miss the […]
Facebook Arguments, or, Why Americans Can’t Compromise
January 12th, 2013 · 1 Comment
Tags: Political Discourse
Doomsday & The Internet
April 17th, 2011 · 2 Comments
I’m not at all sure where to start with this post. My part of the world — the United States — seems to me to be in some kind of downward spiral and I don’t know what to do about it. Does it make sense to try to write and make some sense of it […]
Tags: Social Issues
The Friendship Balloon
June 27th, 2010 · 8 Comments
I’m going to wade into a debate here that anyone with more common sense than I have would avoid like the plague. Well, sort of.
Tags: Blogs & Blogging · General Comments · Personal Life
FTW
June 2nd, 2010 · No Comments
My “day job” (now there’s a laugh!) is that I’m a criminal defense attorney. This morning while in court, I received a phone call from the family of one of my clients, who was supposed to be there with me in court. He wasn’t coming. Now I’ve represented this kid off and on for some […]
Tags: Political Discourse · Politics-In-General
Extinction, Greed & The Need for Regulation
May 30th, 2010 · 1 Comment
As I read the news concerning the greatest oil disaster in the history of the United States (of the world?), I cannot help but wonder if British Petroleum has guaranteed the next major extinction. No doubt some of you will write me off for that comment and move on, thinking what I have to say […]
Tags: Corporations · Environment
Meltdown & Revival
May 28th, 2010 · No Comments
I was going to call this post, “California Dreamin’” because what finally broke through my “not writing on Unspun™” barrier has to do with California’s pension “crisis,” which is really just one more aspect of California’s generalized budgetary crisis. But given what’s going on around the rest of the country, “Meltdown” seemed the more appropriate […]
Tags: Administrivia · Blogs & Blogging · California · Economy · Government
RFIDs for Everyone!
February 21st, 2009 · 1 Comment
Freedom is a funny thing. Too borrow and pervert an aphorism, freedom is like oxygen: most people don’t think about it until it’s missing. Think of me (and this article) as a canary in a coal mine. I only hope you’ll actually notice — and then do something about it.
Tags: Constitutional Issues · Privacy · Technology
Tikkun Olam
January 1st, 2009 · 3 Comments
I’m not sure why I’ve called this post Tikkun Olam, since many of the references in it are actually to the Christian Bible. Perhaps it’s because although the references are taken from the Christian Bible, the concepts about which I write — particularly that of making the world a better place, of healing the world […]
Tags: Balaam's Ass · Social Issues
How Stupid Are We?
December 22nd, 2008 · 2 Comments
Is it me, or are Americans becoming increasingly stupider as time goes by? We’re told that banks and mortgage companies made a bunch of stupid mistakes which resulted in an economic meltdown. So to save us from the economic meltdown, we were told we have to give $700 billion to the same banks that put […]
Tags: Corporations · greed · Stupidity
Let Safety Ring
December 14th, 2008 · 3 Comments
Over on the blog, Defending People: The Art and Science of Criminal Defense Lawyering, after a post titled “Thoughts on a Hanging,” a character named “Y” comments: Wait. A. Minute. How can we have real liberty if we lack safety? How is a man free to “pursue happiness” — another key phrase to our country’s […]
Tags: General Social Issues · Government · Homeland Security · Political · Privacy · Social Issues · Uncategorized