Editor’s Page Guest Editorial by Dr. Lorin Swinehart Ayn Rand’s Death Grip On U.S. Politics   On December 17, 1927, twelve- year-old Marion Parker was abducted from her Los Angeles school by career criminal William Edward Hickman, who had previously committed at least one murder and a string of armed robberies. Because she recognized him

LOTERIA CARDS AND FORTUNE POEMS: A BOOK OF LIVES (San Francisco: City Lights Books) 1999 By Artemio Rodríguez and Juan Felipe Herrera, First Chicano US Poet LaureateReviewed by Margaret Van Every     It’s a mixed compliment when one’s race, gender, or sexual preference modifies the noblesse of an achievement, and yet we can say

To That Dog Poisoner By John Ward   You must be a very brave man… not that it takes bravery to buy poison and place it into raw chicken and drop that poisoned chicken in various locations for dogs to find and eat, no, that doesn’t take bravery, that takes a certain psychotic personality disorder

Imprints By Antonio Ramblés antonio.rambles@yahoo.com P.S. – The Argentine wine country   For reasons unclear this remaining blog entry from my Argentina trip has remained parked in “draft” mode for over two years, but the experience is far too rich not to share, and it’s a fitting epilogue! A taste for Malbec honed during my visit to

Bridge By The Lake By Ken Masson   One of the first lessons that new bridge players learn is the Blackwood Convention and there is often a good deal of excitement when they get to bid it as it usually means a slam may be in the offing. However, as in most things in life,

Uncommon Common Sense By Bill Frayerbillfrayer@gmail.com How Committed Are We To Free Speech?   You may have read about the melee at Middlebury College over the invitation of a controversial speaker to address the student body. When Middlebury professor Allison Stanger invited Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute to campus, they were met by

A Day In The Woods By Margo Warner   A slight but unmistakable glint of light caught his eye. He rolled over in his sleeping bag to see if Martha was awake. Her sleeping bag was flat, as if she had made a bed so it would be warm when she returned.  Perhaps she’d risen