"IDEAS ARE LIKE RABBITS. YOU GET A COUPLE, LEARN HOW TO HANDLE THEM, AND PRETTY SOON, YOU HAVE A DOZEN." – John Steinbeck

Fear can’t be the foundation for our future

For more than a decade serving in and around politics, I believed that America’s governmental institutions–properly equipped with good ideas and reasonable people–would lead our nation towards prosperity while protecting our critical civil liberties. The…

Responding to the pencil in the wall

As my sons stared at the pencil protruding from the sheetrock wall, their mushy-brained machinations led them to believe they could lessen any ensuing punishment by microwaving marshmallows and using the sticky mess to fill…

I found myself in boxes of old photographs

After my brother’s suicide nearly two decades ago, my parents stashed our family photographs in a hot upstairs closet where they’ve remained neglected ever since. Tragic loss shades even our most beautiful memories. I don’t…

You’re not as righteous as you’d like to believe

If everyone were actually as patriotic and morally upright as they considered themselves, we’d be in a very different place in America. Acknowledging our flaws and the complex nature of the problems we face is…

Here’s a truth: Fake lives don’t matter

As children, my siblings and I, along with a few kids from the neighborhood, ended our family gardening season with a tomato battle. After a few nicely placed welts, we found the green ones hurt…
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