California voters "“ at least those who bothered to show up at the polls Tuesday "“ managed to make our state's financial situation even worse than it already is. We thought it couldn't be done, but we were wrong. Read more...

Silence is deafening. The complete absence of sound can become so frightening that the slightest movement, the slightest hum, can fill your ears with noise. Read more...

I had 12 years of religious education, and all I got was a bad taste in my mouth, especially when it came to politics. Every time some polarizing issue sprang up in the public sphere "“ adultery, terrorists, torture, war "“ I could smell the zealous blood of Christ boiling in the veins of every right-wing fundamentalist whose ideologies had become my curriculum. Read more...

Although we were promised a robust and "bipartisan" debate on every issue, the advocates of more government control of health care have decided that reform has to take place now and on their own terms. While President Barack Obama is insisting that universal health care must be passed as quickly as possible, the Senate Democrats are doing his bidding by threatening to bring the debate to an abrupt close. Read more...