It is said that when Ben Franklin was sent to France as America’s first ambassador, he once played chess with the King of France. He began by removing the kings from the board, saying, “In America, we have no need for kings.”
I was personally raised in an environment so strongly anti-monarchial that it didn’t occur to me [...]
Even if you think you know everything about how the War on Drugs has unfolded, you really ought to read this article in the newest Rolling Stone magazine: How America Lost the War on Drugs.
In a blistering overview of 40 years of failed policy, Ben Wallace-Wells examines the evolving federal efforts from the perspective of presidents, [...]
There has been a great deal of conflict within the respective major political parties about how the presidential primaries are scheduled. A number of states have broken with the national parties and have scheduled their primaries earlier than they were allowed to do so. For these transgressions, these states have symbolically lost their representation in [...]
I was a kid when “The Ronald” was first elected president, but I remember being very disappointed to have lost Carter, that kind, wise man, in favor of some pimped up rodeo clown. “Voodoo economics” was how the first George Bush characterized Reagan’s “Trickle-Down” economic theory during the primaries. I remember being distressed at the [...]
One of the greatest revelations I had during my intense periods of religious study centered on the use of a single word: Christian.
Much of my early exploration was propelled by my insistence that I was not, and would not be, a Christian. Now that I’ve come around to the far side of that journey, I [...]
In the ancient world, there were frequently household members known as ’slaves’. These people were unrelated to the head of the household, would work at the bidding of the head of the household, and would receive a share of household resources. In terms of the notion of Household discussed earlier, there is a need to [...]
It is an imperative of Life that we each must search for more of what we have, only better. It’s no accident that hominids, like most herding species, were originally nomadic. They were always searching over the next hill, beyond the next valley, for the greener pastures and fatter sheep. The advent of semi-agricultural habits [...]