It’s happened a few times:  I’m cruising along in suburbia, probably with one of my brothers, and we come across a couple of wannabe gangsters.  You know the type:  probably 14 or 15 years old, wearing hip-hop shirts that don’t fit them, and generally acting thuggish ruggish.  “Stupid wannabe thugs,” I think and/or say.
What didn’t I mention?  Whether they’re black or white.
Answer this question:  if you’re in a convenience store, late at night, and two thug-like gentlemen enter.  They wear jeans that don’t fit them, have winter hats on indoors, …

Something really exciting is constantly going on right now that will have huge impacts in 100-1,000 years from now.  What am I talking about?
Space exploration, of course.  Although these space exploring missions might not pay off for a while, it’s starting!
Why do I bring this up now?  Because NASA just launched the DAWN spacecraft, built for exploring the asteroid belt (as well as a dwarf planet contained in it).
Of course, log in to CNN, which is one of the best news sites, and you have to go to “space and …

I wrote in the Journal-Sentinel that the educational value I received in school would have been less damaging to my worldview than if I had stood in a pile of horse manure for the 17 years instead.  It turns out that school isn’t only hurting our children’s minds, but their bodies as well.
Tough choices tempt kids at every turn — whether it is soda in school, junk food ads on TV or the fast-food chain around the corner — and school policies limiting physical activity only make matters worse, U.S. …

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (I finally learned how to spell it) has been receiving treatment like an American tourist in France. I guess it makes sense. A guy who’s been compared to Hitler (even called a ‘mini-Hitler’) can’t come over and expect the red carpet to be rolled out. Still, what if Hitler visited America in the late 30’s?
That might be what this is comparable to, since Iran is an emerging, potential nuclear power. The only thing Ahmadinejad hasn’t done is invade eastern European countries.
My question …

I’m usually as anti-Nursing homes rights as the next whippersnapper, but when authorities decide to step in on donated snacks and pastries to senior centers in Putnam County in New York, it sets off some of my alarms.
Officials were concerned that the county was setting a bad nutritional precedent by providing mounds of doughnuts and other sweets to seniors.
The picketers said they were objecting not to a lack of sweets but that they weren’t consulted about the ban.
It’s not quite taxation without representation, but it’s the same principle.  It’s very …

Like many of the top Republican candidates, Giuliani can’t keep his positions exactly consistent. Not that that’s a bad thing, though, especially when you become more supportive of gun rights.
Giulaini explained the lawsuit he initiated in 2000 against gun manufacturers by saying that he was “excessive in everyway that I could think of in order to reduce crime” but said that “intervening events” like September 11th had caused his views to evolve.
Between a virtually pro-choice (at least, the state’s right to choose) candidate who only just recently saw the …

Today’s post is kind of a rant, so bear with me.
Donovan McNabb once said that he “can’t believe it’s about race.”  Now, as a black quarterback, he is going around claiming that black quarterbacks get treated worse than white quarterbacks.
The first statement occured in 2003, the second in 2007.
Why is this significant?  Let me tell you a little story.
Back in 2003, Rush Limbaugh was on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown and made some remarks about Donovan McNabb being overrated because the media wanted a black quarterback to succeed.  A polite disagreement …

Today I’m ranking the Presidents from 1-41 in terms of quality. Dubya isn’t on the list and Grover Cleveland counts as one. These Presidential rankings are sorted by a number of issues, but usually the main question I asked myself is, “who would I rather have as President?”
Here are some other issues that went into the President power rankings:
-Space Race presidents
Bonus points for space race, non-LBJ presidents, notably JFK and Dwight Eisenhower.
-Wartime presidents
Bonus points for being President in a time of war. This keeps FDR out of …

I’m back in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel today, probably my last time as community columnist.  Here you go:
Five thousand people throughout the massive conference room faced the stage. I listened as Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” spoke in full “rich man” gear: a pinstripe suit, a watch he probably had to pay interest on and wet-looking hair. Everything about him screamed, “Vote Republican.”
We had come to the Chicago Learning Annex precisely for moments like these. After Kiyosaki let some of his colleagues speak, he took the microphone. He …

Hillary Clinton is releasing her health plan today.  As expected, it’s a step closer to socialism.
It will require – that’s right, require – every American to have health insurance.  If you’re poor and therefore too dumb to pay for health insurance, guess who picks up the tab?  The middle class, which likely means you.
If the liberal/uthoritarian socialist health care plan wasn’t un-American enough, it was important to Clinton that her advisers lie about it and pretend like it helps average Joe’s.  You know, the same people who are going to …