Originally Published Here on Truthwire The principle of constitutionally limited government might as well not exist, to hear most politicians talk. The question is not ‘What do I have the authority to do?’ but ‘What do I have the power
The last entry in this series tackled the beginning of my published novel; this entry turns to the beginning of a short story I don’t believe I’ve ever published, though I’ve shown it to some people. It’s old, just under
Originally Published Here on Truthwire Should Xi Jinping get a vote in American elections? The question is laughable. Of course he shouldn’t. People who live outside the United States, who have no part in our culture or history, who have
Have you heard of Twilight? The financial success of the series cannot be doubted. Its writing? If it has a claim there, it rests in creating a successful blank-slate everyman protagonist (or everywoman). The same can be said for many
Originally Published Here The right of the citizen to his own self defense is fundamental to the American system and the Tennessean way of life. It is so fundamental, so accepted as part of the conservative credo, that it may
Originally Published Here on Truthwire Ancient Rome worshiped the Imperator, and ancient Egypt worshiped the Pharaoh. Modern North Korea worships Kim Jong Un. The rationale has little complexity to it. These rulers were or are men of immense power, relative
Theology and writing have a sometimes fraught interaction. Art has an apparent opposition to theology, if we consider how awful preachiness can get, how making a story into a tract makes it a very bad story. At the same time,
Originally Published Here on Truthwire (with extra context) Montgomery County, Maryland, is not the textbook conservative county. With 11% employed by the federal government and another 9% by local government, its demographic suggest rather the opposite- as does its proximity
There’s been some buzz of late vis a vis the American national debt. Fiscal conservatives, including some brands of libertarians, are all against expanding it. Most people will admit to being less than ecstatic over enlarging the debt, even though
Tautologies, we all know, are useless; definitions, meanwhile, are useful. Yet a definition, once we get down to the brass tacks of it, is very nearly a tautology; both sides of the equation, ideally, have not only the same meaning