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Posts published in “Essays”

Pain & Pain Medication

A lot of Americans are in physical pain. A lot of Americans are addicted to prescription pain medications. The two populations overlap, but are not the same. And therein lies a huge and growing problem.…

No More Money For The Unaccountable

Recently, I received the initiative from the California Democratic Party which I believe is spearheaded by Governor Brown. The initiative is called, “The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012.” It raises revenues…

Big Data

Yesterday brought an email from a friend with the subject heading Data Plague, with a link to an article from the New York Times about Big Data, a hot topic in the world of computer science and technology.

The Crackpot Files

Insanity is the only sane reaction to an insane society.  — Thomas (“Mental illness is a myth”) Szasz   “…lunatics from the hospital up the highway, psycho-ceramics, the cracked pots of [society].”  — Ken Kesey,…

Castro, Baseball & The Thought Police

What a pitiful spectacle. Ozzie Guillen, the hard-partying eccentric who manages the Florida Marlins, sits weeping in the harsh glare of TV lights, forced by his bosses to recant his praise for Fidel Castro. He’s…

Albion! The History

In the introduction to his 1965 book The Making of the English Working Class, English social historian E.P. Thompson described his motivation as being to rescue “from the enormous condescension of posterity” the “lower orders”…

‘Teacher, You Have A Heart…”

My first day at Willits High School (1984-1985) was very interesting in a weird sort of way. I had no literature classes, just 8th, 9th and 10th grade basic English, meaning they were all at…

NFL Headhunters

When the recording of New Orleans’ Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams’ pre-game speech to his defensive unit about injuring specific players before they played the SF 49ers in the playoffs last season came out, it caused…

Why It’s OK To Stick It To Romney For Being A Mormon

Mitt Romney will be the Republican to face President Obama in the fall. Tuesday night was the clincher, as the Mormon zealot won in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington DC. He may stumble on, but the…

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