The growing power of money in the political process has led to a growing cynicism about the direction of the country. The government seems to be in the hands of the unelected and the principle of a level playing field for a free people in a free society is under attack. While the aver
Todd Rutherford is a man of enterprise. After years of being paid to churn out press releases for a self-publishing marketing service, he decided to go into to business for himself. Given that over 600,000 self-published books appear in print each year in this country, he knew he’d
Each day I take up my writing with a new understanding about time. The race is on. I turned 76 a while ago, not an auspicious number, but as I observed then, still a milestone. Having left the “Third Chapter” of my life — that period between 65-75 when one is retired, health
In this election cycle, I hear talk about a drop in voter turnout. People say they are disillusioned with the political process or aren’t inspired by either party. Unfortunately many citizens take the ballot box for granted, believing the right to vote is guaranteed by the Constitut
Rupert Murdoch and I have something in common. I don’t really “get” Twitter. I have 33 followers on a good day, but they aren’t really following. They’re using my site as wallpaper to advertise their sites. We have no more to say to each other than if we were nomads stumblin
I walked to my neighborhood bookstore yesterday, the one that specializes in mysteries. I’d hoped to find a used copy of the latest Martha Grimes novel. I didn’t succeed, so I wandered over to the $1 shelf. Three titles caught my eye. One was by Patricia Cornwell, whom I’d disco
Lucille, a character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, that classic exploration of power and money, shrugs when her expensive dress is torn at a party. “I never care what I do, so I always have a good time.” (3.23-25). Not caring seems to be the hallmark of som
A number of things make me happy though not all of them are good for me. Unlimited access to hot fudge sundaes would be one of these. So would lying on a sunny beach for hours, giving no thought to skin cancer. The one drawback of these delights is that they pertain only to me. But th
Old age comes to everyone, even the young, though the joke is the young don’t know it. They take youth for granted, which is why they have the luxury to complain they are “bored.” In a way, one of the gifts of age is seeing the end and having the good sense to relish the time th
Germaine Greer managed to put her foot in her mouth at the 1012 Brisbane Writers Festival in Australia. if I know anything about Greer – an outspoken leader of the Woman’s Rights Movement in England and author the famous, The Female Eunuch — she meant to do it. In a way, it