Table of Contents
Foreword Brian J. Atra ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Section I Political
1 Government 3
An Oligarchy at Best 3
The Creative Memory of Those on the Wrong Side of History 5
The Right Stuff to Run a Country 7
Pretending To Fix the Federal Budget 8
Keeping Tea Safe for Twenty-First Century Americans 10
The State of the Union Address I Dreamed Of 12
Where Is The Real Power That Governs The United States? 13
The Government and Vital Industries 15
Public Transit and the Public Good 17
2 Elections 19
In The Twilight of Empire 19
Would The Real Republicans Please Stand Up? 21
Who Chooses the Next President? 22
The One with the Most Gold Makes the Rules 24
In Search Of an Honest Politician 25
Poor and Minority Voters 27
The Best Judiciary Money Can Buy 29
When Voting Is Like Spitting Into the Wind 30
Why Do So Many Of The 99 Percent Vote Against Themselves? 32
To Vote or Not To Vote? That's Not a Good Question! 33
The Revolving Door of Legislators and Lobbyists 34
Rhetoric and Reality 36
What's The Matter with America? 37
3 Military 40
Missing the Point in Afghanistan 40
Occupation of Foreign Nations in the Twenty-First Century 42
It's All about Whose Ox Is Being Gored 43
Curbing Military Spending 44
Wars That End With a Whimper 46
Yes, We Do Torture Prisoners 47
Exploitation of Vulnerable Nations 49
Will The Real Traitor Please Stand Up? 51
If All You Have Is a Hammer the Whole World Looks Like a Nail 53
Section II Economic
4 Poverty and Education 57
When Howard Zinn Died 57
Illiteracy in America 59
Poverty Is Unnecessary Violence 60
Malnutrition in an Obese Nation 62
Minimum Wage Vs Living Wage 63
Money Does Not Exist 65
Burning Down Our House While We Are Still In It 67
America's Northern Test Kitchen 68
The Imperfect Science of Economics 70
The Payday Loan Nightmare 72
5 Environment and Agriculture 74
What Would Jesus Drive? 74
Thinking about Eating 76
Short Term Thinking In the Energy Industry 77
Should We Fear Franken foods? 78
Victory Gardens in the Twenty-First Century 80
6 Healthcare 82
Henhouse Security in the Hands of the Foxes 82
Seeing Both Sides of the Abortion Debate 84
The Inevitability of a National Health Care System 85
A Fair Distribution of Health Care 87
Suicide and Medical Bills 89
Please Donate To Poor Pharmaceutical Companies 90
Can We Find Common Ground On Saving Money? 92
Section III Social and Scientific
7 Sexuality 97
On Shame and the Human Condition 97
America's Crooked Road to Same-Sex Marriage 99
Who Should Be On The Sex Offenders List? 101
Time to Start Talking About the "T" In LGBT 102
Matters of Law and Matters of the Heart 104
Science Doesn't Care What You Believe 105
Prejudice's Chicken or the Egg Dilemma 107
Majoring In Minors and Minoring In Majors 108
8 Race, Prejudice, Justice 111
Civil Rights Demonstrations in the 21st Century 111
Civil Disobedience and the Payday Loan Business 113
Nazis and Evangelicals 114
How Many Innocents Are You Willing To Kill? 117
Badges and Brains 118
Domestic Abuse 119
Urban Racism 121
Perpetuating the Insane War on Drugs 122
The Occupy Wail Street Protests 124
9 Gun Control 126
America after Sandy Hook 126
Mental Health and Gun Ownership 128
Is The NRA a Domestic Terrorist Organization? 130
Big Guns for Little Dicks 131
James Brady and Gabby Giffords Speak To America 133
Assault Rifle Sales in the Aftermath of Mass Murder 135
Section IV Religious, Philosophical, and Personal
10 Faith and Practice 139
The Evolution of Faith 139
Seeking the Highest Common Denominator 141
Ethical Opinions with No "Skin in the Game" 142
Can A Spiritual Person Remain Uninformed? 143
It's Not History! 145
Can Feeding The Hungry Be A Religious Sacrament? 146
Liberation from Literalism 148
The Cross We All Eventually Bear 150
Prophets and Saints Among the Occupy Movement 151
Believing in Jesus Vs Imitating Jesus 153
Has The Church Given Up On Being Relevant? 154
Are Comedians The New Princes Of The Pulpit? 156
11 Philosophy and Virtue 158
The Guilty and Undeserving 158
The Philosophy of "Screw You" 159
The Philosophy of Compassion 161
Playing God 162
Are Bad Boys Heroes or Are They Just Bad? 164
12 Personal Musings 166
Organized Labor and Higher Education 166
Saying What Needs to Be Said When No One Wants to Listen 168
Being Famous Vs Being Important 170
Voting With Your Feet (And a Broomstick) 171
On Shame and the Human Condition Promising Pie in the Sky 173
It's Good to Be the King 174
An Abrupt End 174
Bibliography 179
