As I was sitting in the Jury holding area last week, I began to read volume one of the "Centennial History of the Civil War" by Bruce Catton: "The Coming Fury". Between periods of listening for my number to be called, I plunged into the 1860 presidential primaries. Those left…
Missouri's first State Poet Laureate. Walter Bargen. I can't tell you how pleased I am by this. Walter is a first-rate poet and, just if not more importantly, a decent human being. He will be formally introduced on February 13th at the state capitol. After that, he will serve a…
It is five days into the new year, and I am glad of that - 2007 was a particularly trying time for me, full of a lot of personal and professional changes and challenges. It is good to have a fresh chapter to write, a blank page upon which to…
I remember when the FBI unleashed their "Carnivore" internet monitoring system in the 1990's. Everyone was up in arms because the FBI could listen in to all email and run it through filters to store a database of all emails containing suspicious phrases, or from specific addresses. The controversy got…
Amnesty International is encouraging people to participate in their a holiday card action. I've never done this before, it's my first time, others I know do it more regularly, so don't hesitate to join, too! I bought some greeting cards like two, three weeks ago, but started procrastinating when I…