Our political landscape has been skewed by an imposed definition of two illusionary sides. We are told there is the conservative and there is the liberal. Most would say that I am liberal. I would not. I am neither liberally left nor liberally right. I am a moderate. Like the utopian description in Lost Horizon, I strive to be moderately open, moderately chaste, moderately honest. There are only two things I know for sure. One is that I know nothing for sure. The other is that no one else does either, no matter what they might say to the contrary.

Suggested Reality

I sent the following to CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and MTV. Being such a great fan of reality TV, I thought I could contribute to this noble cause. We've got the Osbournes, why not the Bush family? Haven't heard from anyone yet, but I'm sure they've just misplaced my phone number. Oh well, maybe some day.

American Family Values

The American Family Association thought it would be a good idea to have a poll of the public sentiment regarding same-sex marriage. They promised to send their findings to Congress. Well, they didn't get the results they expected. But I thought all their hard work shouldn't be for naught, so I made sure the poll results got to as many members of Congress and the House as I could reach. I let them know of this, but I haven't heard back yet. Hmm, what are those men in black suits doing outside my door?

Italian Hall-Beyond the Door

On Christmas Eve in 1913, 72 people lost their lives behind this door in a mad rush to escape from a nonexistent fire. However, the smoldering embers of hatred between striking miners and the union busting mine owners was fanned into a blaze. The cause to this day is still debated although this door has become a symbol to unions across the country especially after Woody Guthrie immortalized the event in verse. Although the building no longer stands, the door is still there in Calumet, Michigan as a reminder of the cost in human lives. Regardless of the worthy struggle involved, the point that innocent lives were lost because of someone's idea of a joke is something that should not be forgotten no matter which side of the picket line you stand on.

Don't Know Dick...

Although I received no response to this letter to the creators of Dick Tracy, I did receive a few from those that read the on-line post. Most regarded my letter as a ridiculous criticism of a harmless topic. Regardless, I found a certain episode in the long career of Mr. Tracy to be rather offensively misguided and prejudicial. Not as controversial as global warming or hanging chads, but a side note that should be noted none the less.

Light in the Dark

Written September 14, 2001, my attempt to find a foothold after the events of those then recent days was done through the pen. This was originally a post to several e-mail groups and lists of friends as a response to a fake Nostradamus prophecy that floated around the web soon after the towers fell. Whoever wrote it wished to play maniacally with the need we all had at the time to know why such a thing could happen. Their desire was destructive. In my own limited way, I wanted to thwart this desire. I don't know if it helped anyone but myself. I'd like to hope that it did and still may.