Freelancing Success

Working at the Beach Working at the Beach

It’s true: There is a strange tribe of people, myself included, who can and... 

The Eternal City The Eternal City

I took my whole family to Rome this year for Easter… and, as usual, it was... 

Why Blogging is the Perfect Business Why Blogging is the Perfect Business

There aren’t too many businesses you can run while sitting at the beach…... 

Robert Hutchinson:  Author and Essayist Robert Hutchinson: Author and Essayist

Veteran travel writer, author and award-winning essayist Robert Hutchinson enjoys... 

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Spirituality & Religion

Michelangelo hid brain stem in God’s throat… or not. Michelangelo hid brain stem in God’s throat… or not.

You know the old expression, “To a hammer, all the world looks like a nail?” I... 

Today’s Golden Age of Philosophy Today’s Golden Age of Philosophy

Few people know this, but our age is an amazing time for people who love philosophy. When... 

The Nature of Existence The Nature of Existence

For a beach philosophizer like myself, it doesn’t get much better than “The... 

Elena Kagan and the Perils of Legal Positivism Elena Kagan and the Perils of Legal Positivism

It goes without saying that Supreme Court nominee (soon to be justice) Elena Kagan... 

Cowboy Constitutionalism Cowboy Constitutionalism

Jacob Weisberg wrote a thoughtful piece on the various factions on the Right. It... 

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Rants and Raves

Organization “Inside Google” Runs Ads About Google CEO’s Big Brother-Like Attitude Organization “Inside Google” Runs Ads About Google CEO’s Big Brother-Like Attitude

Most parents understand that the Internet is NOT their friend. Companies like Google are making billions by tracking everything you do online… and then selling that information to the highest bidder. Worse, they are tracking everything your children are doing as well… up to and including using the GPS in their cell phones to track their... [Read more of this review]

Why I Don’t Trust Doctors (or Most “Experts” for That Matter…) Why I Don’t Trust Doctors (or Most “Experts” for That Matter…)

In bioethics, politics and law, oftentimes we must rely upon the opinions of so-called “experts,” particularly those in the medical professions.  But as anyone who has ever dealt with doctors knows, they are frequently wrong — but almost NEVER admit it. The problem is, their arrogance can get people killed or cause serious harm.... [Read more of this review]

Al Franken is a  Big Fat Liberal… and other truths the media don’t tell you… Al Franken is a Big Fat Liberal… and other truths the media don’t tell you…

Well, it turns out Al Franken, the pudgy Saturday Night Live comedian and now U.S. senator from Minnesota, got elected the way most Democrats get elected: through voter fraud. If you’ll recall, the rabidly partisan Franken’s election in 2008 was so close the Democrats did a re-do of the 2000 election: They kept re-counting and re-counting... [Read more of this review]

Evolution, Creation and Adam & Eve, Part 1 Evolution, Creation and Adam & Eve, Part 1

The debate over Evolution, Creation and Adam and Eve is one of my least favorite topics.  That’s because I’ve accepted the theory of evolution ever since fourth grade, when it was first explained to me in science class by a Dominican nun. As a result, debating evolution feels a lot like debating the Pythagorean theorem: It’s something... [Read more of this review]

Godblock:  Those Open-Minded Atheists! Godblock: Those Open-Minded Atheists!

I had to laugh at this one:  A browser plugin called GodBlock that blocks any reference to God or religious beliefs on the Internet.  It’s like a porn filter in reverse. Here’s a quick description: GodBlock is a web filter that blocks religious content. It is targeted at parents and schools who wish to protect their kids from the often... [Read more of this review]

Benedict XVI’s Visit to Great Britain Will Bring Out the Lunatics Benedict XVI’s Visit to Great Britain Will Bring Out the Lunatics

The Vatican announced today that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Great Britain on September 16-19. “Accepting the invitation of Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, and of the bishops’ conferences of England and Wales, and of Scotland, His Holiness Benedict XVI will make an apostolic trip to the United Kingdom from 16 to... [Read more of this review]

NCR Blogger Rebuts Biased New York Times Attack on Pope NCR Blogger Rebuts Biased New York Times Attack on Pope

It’s not often you read someone in the National Catholic Reporter defending the pope.  After all, with the exception of its excellent Vatican correspondent John Allen, Jr., the NCR is to Catholicism what The Nation is to the Republican Party:  the official organ of opposition. For decades, it’s been the primary forum for angry ex-priests,... [Read more of this review]

Mel Gibson’s Latest Rant Mel Gibson’s Latest Rant

Not that he needs my help, but I’ve long defended Mel Gibson from accusations that he’s a bigot.  I thought a lot of the rage directed his way over his film, The Passion of the Christ, had less to do with any real or perceived anti-Semitism in the film than it did over its depiction of the Gospels as they are actually written.  In other... [Read more of this review]

Frank Fenner:  Another Crackpot Prediction of Doom Frank Fenner: Another Crackpot Prediction of Doom

NOTE:  The photo above is an illustration of what the earth would look like if ALL of the ice on earth melted and the worst fears of the climate change doomsayers came true:  About 4% more of the earth’s surface would be covered by water than is true today. I would take the aged scientist Frank Fenner’s predictions of imminent doom more... [Read more of this review]

Meg Whitman Governor is Democrats’ Worst Nightmare Meg Whitman Governor is Democrats’ Worst Nightmare

Meg Whitman Governor and Carly Fiorina are the Democrats’ worst nightmare.  They are smart, accomplished, tough business women who got where they are, not by milking the political system and becoming professional parasites, but by actually working for a living.  They also give the lie to the Democrats’ frequent claim that left-wingers... [Read more of this review]

Catholic Lesbian Blogger Eve Tushnet Catholic Lesbian Blogger Eve Tushnet

The New York Times had an interesting article on the lesbian Catholic blogger Eve Tushnet.  She’s not interesting because she’s lesbian and Catholic (lots of those) but because she is lesbian, Catholic and opposes same-sex marriage. Raised in a liberal household (her father a non-observant Jew, her mom a Unitarian), Tushnet went to Yale... [Read more of this review]

Catholic Church in Tibet Catholic Church in Tibet

I’ve been fascinated by Tibet my entire life — ever since I read, as an 11-year-old, Alexandra David-Neel’s classic Magic and Mystery in Tibet (a book I still own and reread). As a child, I scooped up every book on Tibet I could find in my local public library: Lowell Thomas, Jr.’s Out of This World to Forbidden Tibet…... [Read more of this review]

BP Oil Spill Shows Need for Natural Gas Conversion BP Oil Spill Shows Need for Natural Gas Conversion

The British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico only underscores the need to develop the most plausible, practical, real world source of alternative fuel we have: natural gas. Anyone who spends as much time as I do on the beach is a natural environmentalist. I’ve been itching for years to get my hands on an all-electric car (like fellow... [Read more of this review]

Thriving Long-Term Marriages Thriving Long-Term Marriages

The break-up of Al and Tipper Gore’s 40-year marriage is sparking a soul-searching among many long-time married couples. The Wall Street Journal today had an interesting article about the shifting marriage patterns among couples who have been married 30, 40 years or more. It turns out the Gores are typical of the baby boom generation: Whatever... [Read more of this review]

Three Cheers for Tax Havens! Three Cheers for Tax Havens!

I don’t usually comment on blog posts… but Ariana Huffington’s rant today against corporate “greed” and the use of tax havens gave me no choice. Ariana’s rant focused on how corporations and wealthy individuals take advantage of LEGAL provisions in the U.S. tax code to avoid paying unnecessary taxes. She writes: The... [Read more of this review]

Israel Doing What U.S. Would Do Israel Doing What U.S. Would Do

Once again, the State of Israel is under fierce attack for merely defending itself. The decision May 31 to intercept the so-called “peace flotilla” on its way to Gaza may not have been wise, but the abuse heaped upon Israel for its actions would be almost comical if it were not so serious. Alas, too many conservatives… and way too... [Read more of this review]

Sister Margaret McBride and Abortion Politics Sister Margaret McBride and Abortion Politics

The events that led up to Sister Margaret McBride’s automatic excommunication by the Archbishop of Phoenix are undeniably tragic. But the sleazy and predictable way that the liberal commentariat has used this case to further their abortion-on-demand agenda — and take a few extra shots at the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis —... [Read more of this review]

Time Magazine Slams Pope Again (What a Surprise!) Time Magazine Slams Pope Again (What a Surprise!)

Former Time Magazine staffer and now contributor Jeff Israely (aided by news editor Howard Chua-Eoan) takes a predictable cheap shot at Pope Benedict XVI in a cover story this week (June 7, 2010). The cover headline is actually: “Why Being Pope Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry.” (Golly, I wonder where they’re going with... [Read more of this review]

Debating Atheism, Part 1 Debating Atheism, Part 1

A week ago, I was scrambling to get my daughters off to a major swim meet at six o’clock in the morning, when I got a strange email: I was being invited to come to the Philosopical Society at University College Cork, Ireland, and participate in a debate about “whether this house would” reject atheism. The debate would be in mid-March,... [Read more of this review]

New York Times Has Predicted Melting Polar Ice Cap for 128 Years New York Times Has Predicted Melting Polar Ice Cap for 128 Years

This is interesting.  A blogger at The Daily Telegraph compiled a list of predictions of imminent doom due to the melting polar ice cap featured in The New York Times over the past, oh, 128 years… It’s really true:  Liberals have been predicting the end of the world (unless we immediately do what they say) for more than a century! Again,... [Read more of this review]

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