To be honest, I have never liked Congressman James Sensenbrenner (5th district, Wisconsin). But until I went to one of his town hall meetings today, I never realized the depth of the difference between him and me. Let me step back and tell you why I was at his town hall meeting. For the last [...]

“I was raised to keep to yourself.” This is what the mother of the suspect in Mayor Tom Barrett’s beating said on Tuesday. She also accused the Mayor of provoking her son. Seeing this just galvanized the feelings I’ve been having since I first heard the circumstances of Barrett’s beating on Sunday morning. Of course, [...]

Tonight, I watched the Republican National Convention. Tonight, I watched Sarah Palin accept the nomination as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate. Tonight, I was inspired. I was inspired by Sarah Palin’s twisted rhetoric and half-truths (or non-truths). I was inspired by the too-excited nature of the delegates to the convention. Their actions were saying, “See, [...]

Yesterday, I did something that I have never done before. Something I thought I would never do. I bought a pack of cigarettes. Three packs, actually. It all started two months ago when I came to Shanghai, China on a short-term work visit. While I have been here, I have noticed that there are a [...]

As I was going through DVDs today, figuring out what to buy, I noticed that they had a DVD cover for Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. It looked really good, with photos on the back and a summary (and recommendations), too. I thought for a moment and said, “Hey, this movie isn’t [...]

I was in Detroit today waiting for my flight to Richmond, VA.  Next to our gate, there was another plane awaiting a flight to Philadelphia.  Everyone in the area took notice of the Marine in the gate area, lingering between the two flights.  After all, how often do you see a Marine in dress blues?  [...]