Month: August 2018

Showboater attorney Michael Avenatti is hinting to the media of a possible run for president in 2020. And yes, he means President of the United States, not the National Bar Association – for which he would be equally unqualified. The news report had me breaking out in mocking guffaws because I was sure this was just that latest audacious effort to get his mug and moniker in the media spotlight. Even a man as arrogant and audacious as Avenatti could not possibly think of himself as a viable candidate or…

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In pondering the various controversies in America, I started to think about those public restrooms.  Why that issue would come to mind, God only knows.  But, I shall pursue it regardless. In this day of self-identification, multiple genders, transvestites, transsexuals and even ungendered people, it appears that the greatest social and political controversies center on those public facilities that were launched in merry ole England by Thomas Crapper, who euphemistically marketed his invention as the “Thom Crapper patented waterfall No. 1” — although it is also used for number two. …

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Former President Barack Obama recently visited Johannesburg in South Africa to deliver a speech in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela. The speech included thinly-veiled criticisms of his own party, which has taken a hard turn towards socialism since his departure from the White House, and some surprising comments on border security. “It’s not wrong to insist that national borders matter, [that] whether you’re a citizen or not is going to matter to a government, that laws need to be followed,” said Obama, adding that…

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Those who love the New York Times – you know, the folks who put strong emphasis on “THE” when referring to the publication by name — often refer to it as “the newspaper of record.” It is one of those descriptives that sounds very impressive until you ponder what it exactly means. I have asked a few friends who are subscribers and even though they have often heard the term, they could not explain what it exactly means. That came as great relief to me since I, too, have no…

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Everyone should be able to agree that an independent press is a critical component of a free society.  In many ways, it is the institutional means by which we express our individual freedom of speech.  For the press to live up to that responsibility, however, it must truly be free – free of government control AND free of its own self-assumed biases.  Because of its importance, we grant members of the Fourth Estate extraordinary privilege – even exemptions from the rule-of-law.  We allow them to trespass on private property.  In…

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