The heart of the gay marriage debate is encapsulated in the title of this article. I have been somewhat reluctant to address this issue in the past. My views on gay marriage have been evolving over time similarly to President Barack Obama. I am a heterosexual male who grew up in… Read full post »

The United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case on January 21, 2010. They ruled in favor of Citizens United and now allowed corporations, unions, as well as other groups to directly campaign for the victory or defeat of any candidates as… Read full post »

The hypocrisy of Republicans and social conservatives has hit an all time high. They are the grand champions of free markets and liberty for all. Unfortunately these doctrines end when it comes to the subject of free choices for women. I do not like the current use of the hyperbolic and… Read full post »

The tragic Trayvon Martin shooting is the latest racial incident to enter onto the American scene. The biggest question in my mind regarding this episode is whether we are going to once again miss an opportunity to honestly have national and local dialogues regarding race and bigotry. The media and p… Read full post »

The Occupy Wall Street movement (OWS) has been evolving over the last few months and I have been observing them with great interest. They began as a seemingly ragtag group of demonstrators but have grown into a very influential movement. OWS has demonstrably raised awareness regarding the growing wea… Read full post »

The illegal immigration debate in the United States has included many reform proposals over the past several years. It has also included a troublesome level of histrionics from all quarters involved. Unfortunately most of the solutions offered to date have been for the purpose of ameliorating the sym… Read full post »

Public education in the United States was one of the greatest creations of the nineteenth century. It was an example of our striving to give everyone access to the basic tools to become well rounded citizens and productive participants in society. Our Founding Fathers did not believe that all citizen… Read full post »

The debate that has been raging regarding the conditions for raising the debt ceiling has been predictably political and murky. It is true that progressive Democrats have emphasized protecting social programs and raising revenues. At the same time conservative Republicans have argued for massive spen… Read full post »

The Middle East has been ablaze in revolutionary fervor since December 17, 2010 when a Tunisian vegetable salesman set himself on fire. This occurred after a policewoman fined him and confiscated his cart. He tried to appeal to his municipality but was turned away. He eventually died of his burns. Th… Read full post »

I generally attempt to stick to writing about issues and examining them from both sides while trying to discover sensible solutions. I also tend to shy away from conspiracy theories from both sides of the political spectrum. However a confluence of events has developed that has been troubling me grea… Read full post »

I have been wrestling with a dilemma in my mind the past couple of weeks while I developed and then wrote my article, "A Progressive Answer to Paul Ryan’s Path to Social Oblivion". That article was written because of my urgent feeling that the United States budget deficit needed to be… Read full post »

I was anxiously awaiting Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan "The Path to Prosperity" a couple of months ago. Many other people were doing the same. Ryan is the Republican House Budget Committee Chairman and he had a reputation for being a responsible budget cutter. I expected extremely sharp cuts in most… Read full post »

The United States Supreme Court recently ended its 2010-2011 term with another decision that brings into question how legally consistent this conservative philosophy of judicial restraint really is. This decision pitted the state of California against the Entertainment Merchants Association. The cour… Read full post »