I know many of you who are not from the northeast have tired of the hype about tomorrow's Super Bowl. I can't blame you. If  this had been a San Francisco/Baltimore match up, I would have tired of this immediately after the Conference Championship games. So I apologize to you in… Read full post »

I've finally figured out what's wrong with America. We just can't seem to wrap our heads around what's important. Since we can't, we are doomed to failure.

I was saddened but not outraged by the Susan Komen foundation's decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood. Saddened by the lack of leaders… Read full post »

Submitted for your approval, I give you me. High School graduate at 18. College dropout at age 21. Lots of different experience in low to mid range hourly pay. Returned to college part time at age 29. Didn't qualify for many jobs because of a lack of college degree. Graduated with… Read full post »

On January, 22nd, 2009, I posted on Open Salon for the first time. I got six rates and six comments. Posting in this forum was sort of like doing stand up comedy.

The commenters could be hecklers and the rates and the reads were applause. It was scary. There was… Read full post »

There are times when I get accused of bragging. I tell people it ain't bragging if you done it. There was a time in my life where I did it a lot. I am definitely not counting the times I was by myself either.

According to surveys the average male has… Read full post »

I hold former Governor Mitt Romney in minimum high regard. Minimum high regard is what one U.S. Senator says about another U.S. Senator he or she doesn't like very much. Evidently, on the Senate floor it's bad form to say "I haaaattte you" or "you're a moron."

The governor's track… Read full post »

This is the time of year both football fans and non-football fans get excited about. The divisional playoffs. For football fans the four remaining teams from each conference square off just three weeks away from the Super Bowl. For non-football fans, just three weeks away from the Super Bowl and the… Read full post »

There are writers and there are writers. Some get paid and some don't. Some are good and some are not. Don't believe for a minute that all good writers get paid and those who are not good don't. You don't have to have a Ph.D. in English literature to figure that… Read full post »

A grey overcast replaced the dawn this morning. Two calls from my daughters in Maine confirmed a white Christmas had arrived in York and Cumberland counties. Grandchilden alive with the spirit of the holidays. Legos and Pokemon ruled their day.

Ms. Sheepdog and I exchanged gifts in front of the fire… Read full post »

Once doesn't have to look far to find hacks. They seem to be everywhere. The hacks I chose all have the same thing in common. Nepotism. None of them I could find would even have a job in the media if their last name was different than their famous parents. In… Read full post »

1. The fall of regimes in the middle east. Who would have thought the protest movements in Egypt, Libya and Syria would all happen in the same year?

2. Occupy Wall Street. The rise of the 99% movement may chart the course of the debate in the 2012 elections.

3. The… Read full post »

I can't say for sure whether or not Santa Claus exists in real life. I do know that in New York City there is a street named after him. Saint Nicholas Avenue and Saint Nicholas Park are located in upper Manhattan.

The street was named when the Dutch ruled New Amsterdam,… Read full post »

The pundits will be out soon with their predictions for the new year. This is the third time I am making predictions. I did so in 2009 and 2010.

Here are my picks for the new year. Some may be right and some will be wrong. Your comments and your predictions… Read full post »

I always try to maintain a sense of decorum and professionalism in the workplace. There are times however, where I would like to speak out the thoughts that remain in my head. A filter, guided by the light of experience, has been effective from preventing me from doing so. Over the… Read full post »

And then there was Chelsea. When I saw her behind bars I knew she had won my heart. She looked at me with her big brown eyes and gazed into my soul/ When I got close to her she tried to rub up against me. I knew we were made for… Read full post »

Three score and ten years ago, our nation was shocked by an attack by on American Military Forces on the Island of Oahu in Hawaii by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Over three thousand American soldiers and civilians died that day, formally launching the U.S. into World War II.

While President Franklin… Read full post »

A couple of thought experiments.

1, Read some historical books or articles about the former Soviet Union and look at how many of the Politburo would purge those, whose Communist ideology was not pure. Stalin would stand at the top of the list. Substitute the word Communist for Conservative every… Read full post »

Unlike most pundits who never admit when they're wrong (96% accurate 3% of the time) I am back to take my lumps and see how well I did what I screwed up last December.

So here goes:

The next Congress will prove to be contentious and ineffective. 

You didn't need to… Read full post »

A little late to the game with these. Number seven happened yesterday so I thought I better post this while it's still fresh in my mind.

Brussel Sprouts

I always hated Broccoli, and never tried Brussel Sprouts. They have an extremely bad rep. They are now my favorite vegetable, and I… Read full post »

1. Write Open Salon in the title of your post.

2. Write something worth reading.

Any questions? Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends.

I don't remember the first Thanksgiving parade I saw except that I know I watched it on Television in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Back then there were more retailers that had parades. I remember a parade in Detroit (can't remember the store), Marshall Field's in Chicago, and a West… Read full post »

you don't really need to have anyone get you a gift for the holidays.

your wife wants a "white noise" generator as a holiday gift.

you want politicians to stop trying to tinker with Social Security and Medicare.

you know longer care what anyone else thinks....even at work!

you have more… Read full post »

You're not going to see big budget promotion for this movie. In fact, you're going to have make an effort to find a theatre where this movie is being shown.

Writer, producer, director Emilio Estevez has made a real gem of a film.  Let's start with the story, the son of… Read full post »

Grover Norquist found dead after drowning in bathtub.

Thomas Friedman retires from punditry after being proven wrong more often than right.

Koch Brothers investigated for illegally funding Herman Cain campaign. (Bonus headline: Cain Campaign caught with its pants down).

Occupy Wall Street Occupies Co… Read full post »

Much will be said and written over the next several days about the tragedy surrounding the alleged sexual abuses of boys and young men by an assistant football coach who worked for Penn State University.

Those boys and young men are the victims. Not Joe Paterno, the Penn State adminstration… Read full post »