Opinion Forum

Lots of Lame Horses in This Race

October 3rd, 2011

By Tom Carter Like many other folks, I’ve watched most of the Republican primary debates and read and heard a lot of media reporting and commentary. Often — too often — political contests are explained in sports terminology, especially with terms drawn from horse racing. In that spirit, all I can say is that it [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Cain, Christie, debates, Huntsman, loser, Republican, Romney, winner
Categories: Media, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

Muslim Swimsuits and Christian Snakes

August 31st, 2011

By Tom Carter I realize that everyone has the right to believe in their own particular superstition religion and, at least in America, the right to engage in whatever goofy behavior their religion requires, as long as they don’t impinge on the rights of others. Once in a while, though, some ridiculous religious practice pops [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Christian, modesty, Muslim, religion, rights, snakes, swimsuits, women
Categories: Humor, Life | Comments (10) | Home

Life in America: Advertising

August 25th, 2011

By Tom Carter As some may have noted, a couple of months ago I relocated from Europe to Texas. I lived overseas for many years, most recently the past decade or so in Serbia. Even though I spent a couple of months each year in the U.S. for various reasons, I really wasn’t immersed in [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: advertising, America, commercials, Europe, gecko, internet, junkmail
Categories: Life, Media | Comments (2) | Home

If You Had Sex with Rick Perry, Raise Your Hand

August 18th, 2011

By Tom Carter Well, we’re off to the races! According to Salon.com, a Ron Paul supporter is running an ad in an alternative newspaper in Austin raising the question we all want asked: “Have you ever had sex with Rick Perry?” The ad calls for a response from strippers, escorts, and young hotties who may have [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: escorts, gay, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, sex, strippers
Categories: Media, News, Politics | Comments (5) | Home

Beware Rick Perry

August 17th, 2011

By Tom Carter Rick Perry has jumped into the Republican primary race with both feet and mouth wide open. He’s sucking all the oxygen away from other Republican candidates, and before he’s through they’ll all be crawling on the floor and gasping for breath. Don’t think so? Look at his record, listen to what he [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: abortion, Christian, death penalty, jobs, Perry, primary, Republicans, Texas
Categories: News, Politics | Comments (9) | Home

Casey Anthony and the Death Penalty

July 10th, 2011

By Tom Carter There’s all kinds of talk in the media and among people in general about the Casey Anthony case. Mostly, there’s anger about the fact that she was acquitted on the charges of first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter. The most outraged are the TV talking heads, many of them [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Casey Anthony, death penalty, evidence, innocence, justice, mistakes
Categories: Law, Media, Politics | Comments (9) | Home

A Republic … If You Can Keep It

July 5th, 2011

By Tom Carter Interesting, thoughtful column by Joe Scarborough today at Politico. It’s built around the response attributed to Benjamin Franklin when asked by a lady what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had given the people. He said, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.” I agree with Scarborough’s view that “…America has [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: 2012, debt, deficits, election, Franklin, republic, Scarborough
Categories: History, Politics | Comments (0) | Home

Whose Independence Are We Celebrating?

July 4th, 2011

By Tom Carter There’s a lot of discussion about the Declaration of Independence and the unique founding of the United States of America every year at this time. That’s a good thing. But we also should be reflective enough to consider the flaws in our founding. The American Revolution against British rule, followed by the [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: blacks, Declaration of Independence, men, rights, slaves, voting, women
Categories: History, Politics | Comments (12) | Home

If Chavez Dies, What Happens to Cuba?

July 4th, 2011

By Tom Carter We may have a new crisis brewing right outside our back door. Americans, aside from a few dunderheads on the far left, don’t think much of Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. He oppresses his own people and demonizes America at every turn, and if he dies from his current illness few [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Chavez, Cuba, death, Florida, health, instability, oil, refugees, Venezuela
Categories: Economics, News, Politics | Comments (4) | Home

Haircuts and Politicians

June 23rd, 2011

By Tom Carter As the craziness of another presidential election year approaches, it’s certain that things will get progressively nuttier. We’re going to have a weakened and wounded incumbent president facing one of about a dozen Republican contenders, ranging from serious looking but vacuous guys with good hair through really serious guys with bad hair [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: 2012, candidates, Democrats, diapers, election, politicians, Republicans
Categories: Humor, Politics | Comments (0) | Home

Deep in the Heart of Texas

June 22nd, 2011

By Tom Carter I haven’t written for a while because I’ve been caught up in the trauma and confusion of moving. For the past 12 years I lived mostly in Belgrade, Serbia — and for the last 10 years in the same apartment. Two weeks ago, Cat and I moved permanently to Texas, with a [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Austin, Belgrade, conservatives, liberals, San Antonio, Serbia, taxes, Texas
Categories: Life, News, Politics | Comments (2) | Home

Memorial Day

May 30th, 2011

By Tom Carter Memorial Day, once called Decoration Day, is an observance that began spontaneously after the Civil War. People visited the graves of those killed in the war and left flowers in their memory. In the years that followed, it slowly became a national day of observance in honor of the fallen in all [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Memorial Day
Categories: History, Life, Military | Comments (0) | Home

George Carlin’s Modern Man

May 29th, 2011

By Tom Carter The great George Carlin died three years ago. Love him or hate him, he was a genius at compressing complex ideas into hilarious and often prickly comedy routines. This video is Carlin at his best (and, possibly, cleanest).

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: George Carlin, modern man
Categories: Humor, Life | Comments (0) | Home

Are You Ready for the Rapture?

May 19th, 2011

By Tom Carter A small minority of Christians actually believes Jesus is coming back on May 21, 2011 — Saturday! They base this on the rambling Revelation of a kook old man writing in isolation on a Greek island a couple of thousand years ago, plus some other stuff in the Bible. It hasn’t been [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Antichrist, apocalypse, Camping, extremism, predictions, rapture, religion
Categories: Humor, Life, News | Comments (6) | Home

National Financial Recovery Requires Sacrifice

May 16th, 2011

By Tom Carter Robert Samuelson has been writing on economics and business for well over 30 years. However, he’s not an economist; his academic field at Harvard was government and politics. That alone may explain why his views on economics are more logical than those of professional economists. It should be clear to everyone at [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: crisis, cuts, debt, deficits, financial, fiscal, Medicare, Social Security
Categories: Economics, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

Conservative Media Bias

May 13th, 2011

By Tom Carter “Nothing more important” than a government job…. That headline on the Drudge Report today caught my attention. It was boxed with and just below another item, “Obama Tells Companies to ‘Step Up’ and Hire Workers.” The obvious implication was that President Obama thinks there is no job more important than working for [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: agenda, bias, conservative, context, leadership, private, public, sector
Categories: Media, News, Politics | Comments (2) | Home

Statistical Confusion and Sensual Economics

May 5th, 2011

By Tom Carter Seems the only thing people can agree on about the nation’s economic health is that the patient isn’t feeling well. Beyond that, diagnoses and prognoses and treatment regimens are all different, depending on the ideologies of the political physicians in attendance as well as the rubes in the hallway. The most logical [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: confusion, economy, ideology, partisanship, spending, statistics, taxes
Categories: Economics, Humor, Politics | Comments (3) | Home

“We” Got Osama bin Laden?

May 4th, 2011

By Tom Carter Lots of Americans are happily shouting, “We got Osama bin Laden!” When I first heard it, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What do you mean, ‘we’?” The fact is, the U.S. military and intelligence officers got him, under the leadership of their chains of command, including the Secretary of Defense, the [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Afghanistan, bin Laden, burden, Iraq, Marines, society, soldiers, veterans
Categories: Military, News, Politics | Comments (11) | Home

Rush Limbaugh on the Killing of Osama bin Laden

May 4th, 2011

By Tom Carter I listen to Rush Limbaugh now and then, just as I sample the likes of Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow. It’s interesting to hear what they have to say, given that they and talkers like them reflect — or guide — political thinking on the left and right. For that reason, I [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: bin Laden, Bush, credit, failure, Guantanamo, Limbaugh, Obama, success
Categories: Media, Military, News, Politics | Comments (2) | Home

A Victory in the War on Terror

May 2nd, 2011

By Tom Carter Finally, after more than a decade of hunting him, Osama bin Laden has been killed by U.S. forces. As the leader who directed the attack on America on September 11, 2001 he was responsible for the deaths of almost 3,000 people, mostly Americans but also citizens of many other countries. That attack, [...]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: islamist, Muslim, Osama bin Laden, special operations, terrorism, terrorist
Categories: Military, News, Politics | Comments (3) | Home