J. Goodrich

DINOSAURS AND NOAH’S ARK. Have you ever wondered how creationists manage to squeeze the dinosaurs into the ark? This is the sort of research problem one faces when believing in the Bible as the literal explanation of creation. But the creationists are up to the challenge: The Ark easily had room for the dinosaurs (as […]

IN THE QUAGMIRE. Robert J. Samuelson‘s column in today’s Washington Post has an intriguing title: “The Equality Quagmire.” So I put my rubber boots on and waded in. As far as I can tell, Samuelson’s piece is about a new working paper on the reasons for the increasing income inequality in the United States. Its […]

BREAKING UP. It is hard to do, and the Republican party is trying to find the best way to end that long love affair with George Bush publicly. Peggy Noonan wrote her “Dear George” letter last Friday in the Wall Street Journal: For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers […]

WHERE THE HE-MEN MEET. When watching shows like Bill O’Reilly‘s, or listening to a local radio talk show hosted by Mike Barnicle, I get that uncomfortable, need-to-cross-my-arms-across-my-breasts feeling. Even though I’m at a distance. Well, I have realized the roots of that feeling now. Those places are not intended for me. Here’s what O’Reilly said […]

RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION. This is something Newt Gingrich frets over. In his recent speech at Liberty University he complained about “anti-religious bias” and “radical secularism”. Then he started on the horrors of religious discrimination: “Basic fairness demands that religious beliefs deserve a chance to be heard,” he said in the 26-minute speech. “It is wrong to […]

YELLOW RIBBONS. They are a cheap way of supporting the troops. Just stick one on the back of your SUV and feel good. Matters become more complicated when the support must be real, when money must be spent to equip the troops, to pay for them and to take care of the war-wounded. That is […]

MELANIE MORGAN AND PBS. Melanie Morgan will not be invited back to PBS’ News Hour because of complaints from viewers about her rudeness. Morgan is a right-wing radio talk show host who once said that she: “would have no problem” with New York Times executive editor Bill Keller “being sent to the gas chamber” if […]

SPRINGTIME READING. There are always stories that don’t get quite the attention they receive because something else takes the foreground in our public discussions. Right now it is the death of Jerry Falwell that is the focus of much attention, but I’d be remiss not to recommend for your attention this riveting story about the […]

THE WAR CZAR. ABC News reports that the new “war czar” is Pentagon’s director of operations, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute. His military rank tells even the uninformed that the search took a long time and that people with higher ranks refused the honor. Why would anybody refuse a title like “the czar“? Well, in a […]