“That government is best which governs least.” – often attributed to Henry David Thoreau, yet its origin is unclear You may have heard the federal government is shut down. At least it was when I wrote this. Of course this means your social media timeline is going to have a few obligatory jokes about how… Read more

“Inconceivable!” – Wallace Shawn as Vizzini the Sicilian in the film “The Princess Bride” The two prominent collegiate football squads of our college football-crazy state both squared off against top-10-ranked opponents last weekend. I would have never thought any news story outside of nuclear war breaking out – and even the article on the impending… Read more

“Darkness washed over the Dude. Darker than a black steer’s tookus on a moonless prairie night.” – Sam Elliott as the narrator in the film “The Big Lebowski.” The political race shaping up to be the spiciest one on next year’s Republican primary ballot surprisingly appears to be the contest to decide who will be… Read more

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” – John Muir We live in a world full of unintended consequences. Christopher Columbus thought he landed in India after sailing the ocean blue in 1492. George Clinton improvised the lyrics to “Atomic Dog” because he… Read more

“All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share.” – Sally Brown in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” There is a large chunk of American history where the makeup of the federal government’s workforce was determined by what is known as the spoils system. The name refers back… Read more

“Tradition is not the worship of ashes but the preservation of fire.” – Czech-Austrian composer Gustav Mahler Southerners love tradition. It forms a major part of our culture, and our deeper connection to nostalgia and rituals separates us from other regions of the country. Want to see how many true, blue friends and family members… Read more

“And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley College football season kicks off in earnest this… Read more

“Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future.” – Steve Miller “The Jetsons” first episode aired in 1962. Google tells me promotional materials for the show’s premier places the Jetsons’ existence exactly 100 years into the future – 2062. As scary as it sounds, we are only 37 years away from the Jetsons’ time,… Read more

“Now the highway’s back open, and we’re leavin’ at the same time. So stay in your lane, boy, and I’ll stay in mine.” – Bronson Diamond and Greta Stanley My wife’s teaching job requires her to be in her classroom and ready to start receiving her students by 7 a.m. every morning. No one in… Read more

“(T)he common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of (political) party are sufficient to make it the interest and the duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.” – George Washington There is much myth built into the stories surrounding the founding of a nation. Ours is no exception, particularly those legends surrounding… Read more