2014

13 Steps to live by–with practice Bookends.  My first column of 2014 was about ten maxims to live by.  Over the ensuing period, I’ve added a few more, which I’ve dubbed…

Christmas stolen from Clear Creek The Christmas Season: The time when good boys and girls find delightful presents in their stockings.  That might be happening elsewhere, but here in Clear Creek…

CIA culture needs an overhaul Since the 15th century when Tomas de Torquemada made his mark, his name has become synonymous with torture.  Torquemada was a Dominican monk, quite pious it…

Lessons from 2014 election It’s been a month since the 2014 elections, and the post-mortems have been written ad infinitum.  I promise to be brief with regard to it. We learned…

Assisted suicide a contentious battle Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; / For those whom thou think’st thou dost…

Reflecting on not-so-glorious history For the past several months the world has been confronted with the horror of psychopaths beheading hostages.  Decent men and women have decried the sub-human behavior by…

It’s becoming an ennui time of year Ennui: I have loved the word since my eleventh-grade English class with Mr. Laurence.  He was a stickler for vocabulary and was one of…

Quiet heroes walk and run among us Election 2014 is in the books.  High-fives and wringing hands abound.  The results will indicate whether the American devolution into a plutocracy continues inexorably…

Elect pragmatic leaders to office If you’ve been reading my columns over the past several weeks, you might’ve noted one consistent refrain or mantra: “principled, pragmatic, problem-solving leadership.”  One might call…

Udall works tirelessly for Coloradans The 2014 election is shaping up as a referendum on the Colorado electorate: Do we mean what we say when we claim we want pragmatic, principled,…

Hickenlooper has right vision for Colorado With universal mail-in voting across Colorado, we’ve entered a new era of electoral history.  Rather than a one-day event, the electoral period now ranges over…

Politicians must be willing to compromise Religious rightists meet annually under the banner of “values voters” suggesting anyone not in their camp lacks values.  That’s ludicrous, of course, but that didn’t…

Jeffco students learning to be Americans OK, kids, er young adults, you rock!  From Scotland to Jeffco.   From voting on secession and becoming an independent nation to exercising your First Amendment…

Gardner is a political chameleon Ploy.  Ruse.  Each, particularly when advanced by a public servant, indicates conniving underhandedness unworthy of serious consideration and provides the observer insight into the true character…

Testing hurts creativity, innovation In last week’s column, I wrote about the need for parents to embrace their role as their child’s primary teacher.  An essential truth is that for a…