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I am a lifelong resident of the Chicago suburbs, with a several year hiatus to serve in the Navy when my Vietnam era draft notice turned up. I had been told that guys with last names like mine were among the preferred cannon fodder in the Army, so the additional time required for service in the Navy seemed well worthwhile.
After military service, I worked variously in petroleum refining, for myself as an architectural illustrator just in time for electronic media to displace the ink and watercolor images that were my specialty, and doing electronic technical drawing.
To more important issues, I married lucky, which is to say once and forever, and after thirty years still marvel that she keeps me around. We have two children, a daughter with a daughter of her own, and a son who is just coming into his majority.
My wife did tire of my shouting at the television set and suggested that if I feel so strongly about politics, I should be involved. That is when I started a prolific run of commentary on this site interspersed with a few articles, and joined my local Democratic Party organization. To my wife's chagrin, I still shout at the television set.
I believe that the liberal values I hold are the result of a proper upbringing, and those values are simply what my mother, like most mothers, taught to their children. Among those values was a love of country and an admonishment to stand up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. I still hold the part of my military oath to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic", to be sacred.
I keep the Jr. in my name to spare my father, whom I am fortunate enough to still have in this world, from being misidentified as responsible for my rants.
Thursday, September 8, 2011 Barack's Big Betrayal (3 comments)
A followup to my month old article, "Barack's Big Blunder", and perhaps an adjunct to Michael Brenner's recent article, "The Great Betrayal", I point out my perception of the moment when this President betrayed his motivations for betraying his party's heart and soul.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Barack's Big Blunder (4 comments)
How one gets to the finished line by racing in the wrong direction.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 A Simple Proposal for Averting the Nation's Default (7 comments)
It doesn't have to be a choice between the President's plan that can't be passed and the Republican's plan that can't be passed. They can just do what they should have done to begin with.
Monday, July 11, 2011 Can Republicans Reach a Debt Ceiling Deal? (3 comments)
Republicans have signed away any ability to bargain in good faith, either with Democrats in budget negotiations or the public at large when they run for office.
Thursday, June 30, 2011 Two Michigans (5 comments)
Let's see how this works in the hands of an inexcusable while at the same time unrepentant Luddite.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 The "Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme" Hoax (30 comments)
On January 29, Sheila Samples submitted a quicklink to an article entitled, "Ayn Rand Railed Against Government Benefits, But Grabbed Social Security and Medicare When She Needed Them". In that article was a reference to the objectivist and libertarian right's view of Social Security as a Ponzi scheme, which prompted me to post the following comment:
Sunday, January 9, 2011 A Word on the Media Shaping our Perceptions (1 comments)
In a political climate that can lead to events like the tragedy affecting Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords and those near her, what are the causes and solutions to lead us back from a situation that lends itself to conflict? Here is a discussion of one aspect of a thorny problem.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 Trusting Democracy (31 comments)
A good candidate must trust democracy, and so must a worthy electorate.
Thursday, September 16, 2010 The Late Great Tax Debate
Who should pay? Who gets to pay? It's time to make our own noise, rather than taking the plutocrats' word for it.
Friday, September 10, 2010 How to Steal $2.5 Trillion (2 comments)
Convincing the rubes to do without what they already paid for.
Monday, November 17, 2008 A Change That Is Due (6 comments)
Why claims of a right wing nation are unfounded tripe.
Sunday, September 14, 2008 Chinese Company Inks First Oil Deal With Baghdad (2 comments)
Chinese oil interests gain early advantage over American Big Oil in quest for Iraqi petroleum supplies.
Saturday, April 5, 2008 Desperate Times Response (2 comments)
A response to Rob Kall's "Desperate Times Demand Revolutionary, Visionary Response, outlining a few options.
