Inappropriate Conversations

Perhaps we have reached a point where the most important decisions I'll make in this lifetime can no longer be discussed with family members. They don't want to hear it. My challenges are confusing, even aggravating. Would it be best if I just, I don't know, talked less and smiled more?

Different Drummer: Alexander Hamilton

Topics: Consent, Orlando, Brexit, Segregation, Abortion, Secretly Timid (Pride 48).

Different Drummer: Nan Little Kirkpatrick

Perhaps the best way to answer the inaccurate and probably blasphemous words being put into the mouth of Jesus by some pastors and politicians is to quote Jesus of Nazareth at length. My favorite way of doing that is sharing The Sermon On The Mount. For better or worse, I've chosen to do that in a way that might have gotten me burned at the stake a few hundred years ago.

Different Drummer: John Wycliffe

Tea Party Jesus - the Tumblr

I don't want to talk about gun control. It's a topic I have generally avoided, partly because the conversation usually misses the point. It isn't about controlling ownership -- the confiscation hysteria -- and it should be all about maintaining a "control" over our standards for usage. Only the fully qualified (law enforcement, hunters, National Guard) and properly trained (a standard that will eliminate even some of the legally qualified) should be using weapons in public. My subconscious called this obvious requirement to my mind this week, while I was trying not to dream about the latest in a long series of deadly school shootings.

Different Drummer: William Hamby

What If Gun Laws Were Like Abortion Laws?

Redrawing the Responsibility Line: A "Radically Moderate" Take on Gun Control

Perhaps on some level American politics has always had its share of game strategy. Maybe it's a myth that our so-called "founding fathers" set aside their own interests to form a new nation, and maybe all the key elements of the U.S. Constitution really just came from one influential leader trying to trick or embarrass a political enemy and that's the only way we actually have a freedom to assemble, for example. Seems unlikely, Even if such claims were true, we still have a major issue today with the poor quality of game being played.

Different Drummer: Dwight Eisenhower

If I had been younger when record companies began putting warning labels on albums and tapes, responding to pressure from the Parents Music Resource Center and others, I'm sure I would have responded like almost every teenager I observed while working in a record store. The "Tipper sticker" served as a beacon, telling them which albums to buy. Only very rarely did I observe this attempt at censorship (some associated with the PMRC openly hoped their approach would lead to album bans) go in the other direction, with the sticker telling "concerned parents" not to fund a purchase. It did reveal some significant ethics and intelligence lapses within the United States Senate. In that respect, the sad spectacle delivered some nominal value.

Different Drummer: Frank Zappa

Business author Jason Jennings once raised the question: what's the good business reason for doing this? It's a notion we should apply to other aspects of life. The church should mix this with "what would Jesus do?" slogans and challenge whether congregations have asked about the good Jesus reasons before taking a stand. Likewise, in the area of state secrets, our government leaders need to ask themselves tough questions before classifying documents. Making secrets out of things that either ought to be public or should not be done in the first place is abominable public policy.

Different Drummer: Edward Snowden