WR's blog

Legislators are mostly about telling people what to do. And in our republic we call on legislators to influence--often to control--the actions of fellow citizens. But we also live by principles, so that the considerable demands we make on others are not expressions of prejudice, mere whim, or the worst of our impulses.

There are several arguments against same-sex marriage, but for the most part, the counter-arguments are better.

All American politicians will say that the American worker can compete with any worker in the world. They can make a good case with regard to the skill, motivation and endurance of our labor force. But we must admit that in many cases American workers cannot compete with foreign laborers with regard to pay. American workers cannot maintain the American minimum standard of living while earning $2, $3 or $4 an hour. The difference in the cost of labor is a major reason why many jobs have gone overseas.

In ancient times beginning around the 1950s, the dominant paradigm for computer systems involved a mainframe that users accessed through one or several dumb terminals. Personal computers did not exist; the massive size and great cost of the central processing units typically required very substantial investments by large companies or departments of government.

Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Michael Enzi (R-WY), Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) advocate the removal of restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba. (See the 'Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act', S. 428.) Now is a good time for ending not only the ban on travel but also the remaining embargo against Cuba.

Renewing the freedoms of travel and trade would benefit both Cuba and the United States.

Copyright laws aim to protect authors of original material, so that they can earn income for their work. Unless the activities generate revenue, many kinds of research and writing are not sustainable. So copyrights foster the collection and dissemination of facts, theories and commentaries. And copyright laws, to a degree, may protect the very existence of a commercial literary enterprise.

There are small issues regarding public safety: the concern for the safe use of firecrackers is one of them. And there are some big issues, for example, those that involve threats to the very existence of humanity. One such threat is astronomical: one comet or asteroid could destroy all human life. It just has to have sufficient mass and hit Earth almost anywhere.

Ghoulardi's admonition is a good one for the national holidays--especially the Fourth of July. To the delight of many viewers of WJW in Cleveland in the early sixties, the host of Shock Theater often lit firecrackers on the set to blow up model cars, effigies of local personalities he lampooned, and even the letter he received from the fire marshal telling him to stop lighting explosives in the building. Ghoulardi did end the practice after he dispatched a big one that deafened some of the crew and started fires that took a couple dozen extinguishers to subdue.