Editing as Reverse Plagiarism

Some time ago I “divorced” the, then, new editor of the “Faith and Values” section in the Sunday edition of Charleston’s Post and Courier newspaper. Since he so consistently changed what I had written to, instead, say what he wanted to...

Tragedy and Gun Control

On January 3, 2013, I posted a blog in which I offered several comments concerning the horrible school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. These comments  ranged from observations on mental illness to matters of ethics, politics, modes of thinking, the nature of tragedy...

Karl Marlantes on “Loyalty”

Recently, I’ve been reading one of the most important books I will likely ever read. I’d say I have almost finished it–only a few pages left–but I suspect I’ll be reading portions of Karl Marlantes’ What It Is Like To Go To War...

Legalized Abortion

Dear Barbara, As with most of the interesting articles you pass along to me, I appreciated the recent piece entitled “Leeches, Lye and Spanish Fly,” an horrific describing of so many different dangerous ways women through the years have sought to perform...

Doing It For Whom?

Someone has said that “our morality is who we are in the dark, when no one else is watching, when nobody knows, or perhaps even cares.” In this respect, my buddy, an alcoholic in recovery for many years–he once shared a revealing experience with me....

A Wealth Problem?

My friend, Rob Dillon, a devoted and disciplined Christian, is an evolutionary biologist, a college professor who studies snails, surely one of life’s more practical endeavors. I once asked Rob, “If one of your secular humanist science professor...