Happy Veterans Day! My thanks to those who currently serve and have served – both willingly and unwillingly – in the U.S. military, providing every American with very real physical defense and security. I feel this especially now, living in a foreign country that operates under the security umbrella provided by the U.S. and knowing […]
We have lived in Singapore for just more than two months now, and I can confirm what we had been told before we moved: it’s a wonderful place to live. (Assuming you ignore the obvious flaws it has from an American and humanist perspective. More on that some other time.) Every Singaporean I’ve met has been […]
Okay, it’s curmudgeon time. I have been challenged to do the ice bucket stunt, too, but I haven’t exactly made it a priority. Part of it is the hassle of getting a bag of ice here in Singapore. (Sorry, no ice maker in the fridge.) But that’s petty, of course. Frankly, I’m not a get-on-the-bandwagon […]
Yesterday, I wrote about how Boy Scouts of America is a quasi-church and how, regardless of BSA’s position on homosexual members, its biggest customers view “duty to God” as the central premise of Scouting. I also mentioned that I’m a secular humanist – and yes, that means atheist – but that I support the values […]
As I wrote yesterday, after five years, I have resigned as a registered adult leader with Boy Scouts of America. The local BSA council is currently taking proactive steps to sever the ties between local public school PTOs and Scouting units so that it can freely implement its discriminatory policies targeting homosexual adults. This will effect my local […]
I believe in Scouting. I believe in the values and skills it teaches. I believe in the experiences it provides. Both of my boys have participated in Scouts. I have gladly volunteered as a registered leader with Boy Scouts of America for more than five years. I led a Cub Scout den for most of […]
The debate over whether to bomb Syria feels just like run-up to the invasion of Iraq. It’s on a much smaller scale, and some of the facts are different. But the similarities are enough to make me think back to why I left mainstream journalism and openly embraced liberalism. Mainstream journalism was once a comfortable […]
Reading around the history of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, it’s interesting to me that, fifty years later, the progressive movement faces the same opponents that it did then: the plutocrats, the bigots, and the war-mongers. Four years after the march, here’s Dr. King from his “Beyond Vietnam” speech: “When machines and […]
For the first time ever in my life, I just watched the entirety of the “I Have a Dream” speech on All In with Chris Hays on MSNBC. Of course, it was inspiring. Two other thoughts: First, I didn’t realize this. He set aside his prepared remarks to deliver the most memorable parts of the […]
So I received my property tax bill the other day. I always love getting the statement. It’s a great reminder that those dastardly taxes that conservative and Republicans like to complain about actually pay for – you know – stuff. I’m not going to post the bill itself. (I guess I’m still trying to hold […]
Bill Poorman 