Monthly Archives: October 2006

Life in the past lane

Posted on October 15, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

Yesterday I finally took my family to a Society for Creative Anachronism event. I’d promised Monika I would since we first went to the Norman, Oklahoma Medieval Fair. I hadn’t played SCA in about twenty years, since I got serious … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

American exceptionalism

Posted on October 14, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

The other day my wife asked me, “What are the Minutemen?” So I explained that they are a volunteer organization that watches the Mexican-American border and reports illegals entering the US to the Border Patrol. I added that the name … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Random thoughts of the day

Posted on October 12, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

I had to make the title a little wordy. Thomas Sowell uses “Random Thoughts” and while I don’t think he’s got a lock on the title, I’d feel a bit presumptuous using it myself. For the record, I’d read the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruminations | 3 Comments

He’s gonna get a bomb

Posted on October 11, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

First we had the bomb and that was good,’cause we love peace and brotherhood.Then Russia got the bomb but that’s OK,‘Cause the balance of power’s maintained that way.Who’s next? Well France got the bomb but don’t you grieve,’cause they’re our … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Terrorism, Uncategorized, War | 7 Comments

Can you think?

Posted on October 10, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

“Whenever a theory appears to you as the only possible one, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the theory nor the problem which it was intended to solve.” Karl Popper I have noticed a thing: everybody … Continue reading →

Posted in On Thinking | 6 Comments

We meet PC

Posted on October 9, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

Well it finally happened, we met PC in the preschool. My five-year-old son’s preschool teacher asked us, very nicely, to tell him that he’s not allowed to make pistol-shaped objects with Leggo blocks and play guns. I’d heard of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Gay Marriage – the biggest non-issue today

Posted on October 7, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

I see that the California appeals court has upheld a ban on gay marriage and the sky is falling. On this issue I’m tempted to echo the comedian who remarked, “And this affects me, how?” Proponents of gay marriage say … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

The Amish Tragedy

Posted on October 6, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

What did the Amish do to deserve what happened to their children this week? Now if you thought that I meant that in anything but a rhetorical sense you’d condemn me as a moral monster- and you’d be right. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, News commentary, Philosophy, Social Science & History | 2 Comments

Life in Europe: Observing Beggars

Posted on October 4, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

One thing an American in Europe finds it hard to get used to, is the multitude of beggars on the streets of some countries. When I went to Poland in 1991 the country had just been invaded by an army … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

US and the Europeans

Posted on October 3, 2006 by Stephen W. Browne

Since our falling out over Iraq, among other things, there has been a spate of articles about our European cousins, mostly finding fault with them, particularly the French and the Germans, but also some that seem to me to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments