It was inevitable; once Moe was out of the picture– chose to resign his position as county commissioner–we would be left with the plunderbund of “Eenie, Meenie and Miney.” Eenie, Meenie and Miney–originating from the rhyme used as a way of selecting someone to take a role that is different from others– have certainly seized a character that is decidedly... READ MORE >
I’m pretty sure we’re all somewhat familiar with the role the body’s immune system plays in protecting us from harmful influences and foreign invaders. It’s a fairly complex system. In fact, aside from our nervous system, our immune system comprises the most sophisticated system within our body. Suffice it to say, without our body’s immune system, things could get a... READ MORE >
“Don’t drink the Kool-Aid,” an expression literally born of a nightmare–commonly referred to as “the Jonestown Massacre”– created a lasting legacy, a saying that has come to mean: ”Whatever they tell you, don’t believe it too strongly.” Sad to say, Cook County taxpayers are being asked by members of the present local governing body to drink some exotic concoction of... READ MORE >
The metaphorical phrase, “Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made,” first appeared in The Daily Cleveland Herald, March 29, 1869. The laconic quote originated with American lawyer-poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816– 1887), known for his re-telling of the Indian parable “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” The basic premise, suggesting that... READ MORE >
Who among us hasn’t visited a small village cemetery in one of the remote corners of the world, passing our fingers across unfamiliar names inscribed on headstones often found out of place, as though someone were thrusting them up from below? Burial grounds often set in locations with picturesque views of the ocean, or tranquil rolling hills, or huddled next... READ MORE >
Not to be confused with some fluffy white woolly sap-sucking insect (aphids), an aphorism is a pithy observation that contains a general truth or principle; like, “Appearances can be deceiving.” There is one aphorism that I would like us to consider. A saying often attributed–for more than 95 years–to the charismatic Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name... READ MORE >
When Moses–at the age of 80–descended cloud-covered Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments in hand, I’m pretty sure he figured 10 laws, written by the very finger of God on two tablets of stone, were enough to govern a people. Little could he know, some three-thousand plus years later, public regulatory decrees etched in the Federal Register by itchy-fingered law... READ MORE >
While Theodore Roosevelt of the so-called “Bull Moose Party” and William Taft–the last president with facial hair–wrangled over Republican Party votes, Woodrow Wilson sauntered into the White House as a Democrat in 1912 and seized the opportunity to introduce a new federal income tax, authorized by the 16th Amendment. Wilson, like most politicians, I expect, was a man in conflict... READ MORE >
A light rain had begun to fall, heralding heavier rains to follow by the looks of the clouds amassing in the distance. Jefferson suggests we relocate to his library. He calls out to summon the grandchildren playing near the grove, among what one guest referred to as Jefferson’s “pet trees.” As we make our way to the 43-room Monticello, it... READ MORE >
This week I visit a man who, for me, is arguably one of the most interesting men to grace American history: Thomas Jefferson. There are so many reasons for my saying this, aside from the fact that Jefferson’s refined political philosophy fundamentally shaped our nation, his preamble to the Declaration of Independence, it has been said, “is regarded as one... READ MORE >
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