‘Guest column’ Archives
Ten Years After 9/11
Have We Become the Enemy of Freedom? By John W. Whitehead September 6, 2011 When the World Trade Center crumbled to the ground on September 11, 2001, it took with it any illusions Americans might have harbored about the nation's invincibility, leaving many feeling vulnerable, scared and angry. Yet in that moment of weakness, while most of us were still reeling from the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of some 3,000 Americans, we managed to draw strength from and comfort each ... Full Story
Where have all the heroes gone?
Rev. James L. Snyder In celebrating the 10th anniversary of one of the most horrific events in the history of the United States one cannot help but reflect back on the past decade. We have come a long way, but I am wondering if we have gone the right way. My wife and I were thinking about this the other night and she startled me with a question. Most of the time she just startles me, but this time she had substance in the form of a question. "I wonder," she said rather thoughtfully, ... Full Story
Media choice: Economics or Bachmann’s outfit?
The election game is back as the media turns away from political economics and towards the banality of politicians. "]And so it came to pass, as predicted, projected, and warned about, that the economy is about to tank again. No less an authority than Nouriel Roubini, once dismissed as "Dr Doom" for his predictions - entirely accurate - of the 2008 financial crisis, is shaking his head and pointing his finger again. In intellectual circles, there is more and more talk ... Full Story
The Military Industrial Complex: The Enemy from Within
By John W. Whitehead July 11, 2011 “Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes … known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”—James Madison “When a nation becomes ... Full Story
Female Protester Arrested for Attempting to Pass
RALEIGH-DURHAM, N.C. — The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a North Carolina woman who was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after she stripped down to her underwear at a Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) checkpoint to protest the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) whole body imaging scanners. Police arrested and charged Siobhán Cooke with disorderly conduct as a result of her act of protest at RDU on June 2, 2011. Attorneys for The Rutherford ... Full Story
Bank robbery for health care
In what can only be described as a new low for the for-profit healthcare system, 59-year-old Richard James Verone held up a bank for $1 with the hopes of going to prison and obtaining prison health care. In Gaston County, North Carolina, Verone showed up at the RBC bank, presented the teller with a note indicating he was robbing the bank in the amount of $1, and after receiving the dollar from the teller, sat down to wait for the police to arrive. The former Coca-Cola delivery driver's ... Full Story
Slices of Life: Learning to relax
By: Jill Pertler Forced relaxation. It’s an oxymoron of terms, but all too real in our present day culture. Technology has us plugged in, turned on and connected 24/7. The only way we can relax is if we are forced to do so. That’s because we value productivity and time-management nearly as much as we value cell phone apps and electric gizmos. We’ve even coined phrases like multi-tasking to describe our prowess with the concept of busy. There’s no ... Full Story
A delightful afternoon with the IRS
Rev. James L. Snyder I do not get as many letters as I used to do, which may be due to the Internet or to the fact that I do not have as many literate friends as I used to. I still like getting a letter, as long as it is a letter and not a bill. Bill used to write me but he was always asking for money. I did get a letter this past week. It was unexpected but it was from a family member. Good old Uncle Sam sent me an epistle this past week. I was anxious to see how he was getting along. I ... Full Story
Representative Gardner’s Republican Leadership Tries
House Republican Leaders, including Congressman Pete Sessions, the man responsible for getting Representative Cory Gardner (CO-04) re-elected, introduced legislation to end Social Security as we know it - starting immediately. Gardner already voted for the controversial Republican plan to end Medicare, while protecting subsidies for Big Oil and tax breaks for millionaires, and increasing the debt ceiling by $2 trillion. “After following his Republican leadership and voting to ... Full Story
One word not in my vocabulary
One word not in my vocabulary Rev. James L. Snyder I have long been an avid reader of Webster's New World dictionary of the American language. My well-thumbed copy suggests I have done a lot of reading in it. It is the one book within easy reach of my study. Although I enjoy reading it, it does not have much of a plot. Whenever I get the idea that I know many words, and people can be proud of stupid things like this, I pull down my dictionary and begin reading. Although I have read it ... Full Story
