Politics

August 25, 2012

Engaging In Conflict

A client (I’ll call him Joe) recently agreed to do some home improvement work for a couple.  Joe called me after he was almost finished with the job and told me that the couple was accusing him of not doing the work in accordance with their agreement.  Although he had an initial proposal that was signed by the couple, they had changed the plans a few times and added several new items to the original proposal.  Unfortunately, Joe didn’t have any of the changes or additions in writing.

July 7, 2012

A Government of Unlimited Powers

I owe my patriotism and my love of country primarily to the two men who had the most influence on me while I was growing up – my dad, Carl Williams, and my grandfather, Tom Williams.

June 30, 2012

Cooperation Among Strangers

The Ford Quadricycle

May 26, 2012

The Unraveling of a Culture

Last weekend at the Kapow Comic Convention in London, a representative of DC Comics announced that one of its previously “straight” superheroes was going to come out as being gay.  When ABC News later asked Courtney Simmons, DC’s Senior Vice President of Publicity, about the announcement, she confirmed that “one of the major iconic DC characters will reveal that he is gay in a storyline in June.”  In a separate interview, Bobby Wayne, the senior Vice President for Sales, said that the company “had evolved,” a reference to President Obama’s recent endorsement of same-sex “marriage.”

May 5, 2012

The Religion of America – As Represented in Disney Productions and The Hunger Games

Katniss Everdeen - District 12 - The Hunger Games

April 28, 2012

Walt Disney & The Renegade Bishop

I’ve written before about Fr. John Hardon, a spiritual advisor and mentor of mine during the 1990s.  From 1989 to 1999, I attended 11 men’s retreats that were given by Fr. Hardon.   He died in 2000 at the age of 84.

October 29, 2011

Scary Times

BOO!  IT’S GETTING SCARY OUT THERE! As I am writing this, there are “Occupy” protests going on in numerous cities throughout the United States.  One of the gripes of the protestors is the lack of jobs that are available.  The protesters remind me of Linus in It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  Instead of going trick-or-treating with his friends, Linus waited up all night in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to arrive with free toys and candy.  My favorite quote from the show came from Linus when he said: “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”

October 1, 2011

The Tavern Owners Club

Did you know that at one time Peoria was known as the “Whiskey Capital” of Illinois?  According to a PeoriaMagazines.com article written by Jerry Klein, between 1837 and 1919, there were 24 breweries and 73 distilleries in Peoria.  In another publication, “A Brief History of Peoria,” published by C.A. Cockle in 1896, it was noted that out of all of the breweries in Peoria, three of them had the lions’ share of the beer market: Gipps Brewing Co., Leisy Brewing Co. and Union Brewing Co.

April 16, 2011

Penalty, Punishment & Death

Earlier this year a prison inmate confessed to killing a female correctional officer inside the chapel of a prison in the state of Washington.  At the time of the killing, the inmate, Byron Scherf, was serving a life sentence as a “three-strikes” offender for prior rape convictions.