In this column I pose questions and raise issues. I don't always agree with the conclusion, implied or stated. The purpose is to put a slightly different spin on each item and to promote discussion.

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• A person with a disability has no choice, it is an inescapable condition of their existence. A cripple is somebody who chooses to be disabled.
• Many women hate how their men look at other women, and complain that, "I should be enough for him." Maybe it's time guys started doing that, too. So next time your gal wants flowers and dinner, or jewelry and romance, tell her, "I should be enough for you."
• In guy culture, it's normal and natural to be cordial and respectful, if not playfully teasing, with competitors. In post-feminist America, however, now that we've all been forced to get in touch with our feminist side, it's no longer acceptable to treat competitors like people. Instead, we are supposed to hate our competition. The way they do in gal culture.
• Republicans drove the inherently Conservative Indian tribes into the arms of Democrats.
• When most Americans refer to "God," they mean Jehovah. Jehovah is a composite of mythical figures distilled from a legion of religious traditions. But God transcends all religions and is beyond our comprehension.
• American Indians practiced controlled burns for hundreds of years. Pioneers harvested the resulting "virgin timber" into a sustainable industry that produced generations of prosperity. Right up until the environmentalist whackos turned millions of acres into a tinder box with their messy forest mismanagement policies, with tragic consequences, such as the raging inferno now consuming southern California.
• It used to be generally true that increasing worker wages led to higher prices. Now, however, prices of many products - like Nike - are very high despite the low wages paid to their workers. Consequently, it can be argued that raising worker wages would, at this point, have a similar if not more potent impact than tax cuts on stimulating the economy.
• Most women are not interested in men who are interested in them for more than just sex.
• In my experience, conservatives generally raise girls who are literate, interesting and competent, while liberals generally raise girls who are informed, opinionated, and incompetent. Most men want liberal girls for only one reason: sex. This is part of the legacy of feminism.
• Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was the George W. Bush of his day.
• October 23, 2003, Michael Medved said that almost all political third parties accomplish nothing. While this may appear to be true on the surface, it ignores that political third parties create cadres and distill doctrine. Later, when those cadres join one of the major political parties, they act in unison to affect change within that party.
• On October 23, 2003, Michael Medved said, "I don't believe in Civil Rights laws," and that he believes employers should have the right to fire people for any reason whatsoever, no matter how stupid. That makes sense only if there are also no laws to protect employers from their stupid decisions, no artificial impediments to competition, such as costly regulations, and corporate plaintiffs are required to compensate defendants in frivolous patent and copyright infringement lawsuits.
• Computer users around the world agree that Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express are the hardest to use, least intuitive and user-friendly e-mail programs in the world. The reason they are also the most popular e-mail programs in the world is because Microsoft is not a monopoly.
• Feminist culture is turning women into socio-economic parasites.
• Advocates of gun control ignore a huge and relevant difference between America and the rest of the world that explains much of the reason why there is so much violent crime in the United States: cultural diversity. There are more different cultures represented in America than almost anyplace else in the world, and the tension caused by this contributes significantly to the violence.
• When people ask what you believe in, what your religious beliefs are, they want you to tell them some stories full of miracles, mysteries and supernatural characters. If, instead, you talk about principles, responsibility, causality and the like, their eyes glaze over and they stumble off complaining that you wouldn't answer their question.
• Canada is conducting a study to see if giving heroin to addicts, along with counseling, will be more effective at improving health and reducing crime than the expensive and largely ineffective practice of warehousing them in prison. Many feel it is wrong for a government to spend taxpayer money giving drugs to addicts, but prison costs more and it doesn't work, so what else are we to do? Decriminalize drugs?
• On October 23, 2003, KVI host Rusty Humphries noted that Islam "has been bastardized so much." He's right. But then the same can be said about Christianity.
• Western patriarchy also protected women from other women.
• Most news commentators and radio talk show hosts are verbally glib buffoons who talk a lot about issues which they understand very little.
• Strict Government enforcement of property rights would achieve virtually every stated liberal and conservative goal, whether they're willing to admit it or not.
• October 22, 2003, Michael Medved said the federal government has nothing to do with creating jobs. The logic of that statement is both simple and appealing. Simple, because businesses, not government, create jobs. Appealing because America is, more than most, a nation founded on business. In a Libertarian fantasy world - such as is portrayed in one of my favorite books, The Probability Broach - there is no need for government to regulate business. In the real world, however, unregulated businesses, armed with commercial might, can and do inflict harm on a vast scale.
• In a time when a very large and growing segment of the American population must choose between housing and health care, or food and health care, it's easy though suspect to say health care should remain private because our nation is founded on free enterprise principles. The reality, however, is that the cost of health care - from drug prices to provider prices - has been driven up by government enforcement of monopolies, and government interference which limits consumer choices.
• I have never heard women complain so bitterly about their relationships as a lesbian about her lover.
• In my experience, Left-wing liberals take it upon themselves to instruct American Indians on how to be American Indian. Interestingly, their instructions tend to reinforce all the racist stereotypes.
• People who hate male sexuality and believe the idiotic feminist line that rape is always about power, never about sex, and never, ever the result of uncontrollable urges, condescendingly quip how amazing it is that the mere sight of cleavage doesn't drive every man into a rapacious frenzy. Their contempt conceals the context in which these things happen. Wrap the female body in a sexually charged package of perfume, flirtation and other behaviors known for thousands of years to provoke the male libido, and sometimes - in fact, according to feminists such as researcher Mary Koss, many times - conditions are primed for rape.
• In the Right-wing liberal view, big government is good if it works for corporations, but bad if it works for individual citizens.
• October 17, 2003, radio talk show host Michael Medved asked that, if we believe in small government, then how can we justify bringing the government into decisions of trade and controlling what products Americans can buy, whether American or foreign made? Good question. We should, however, keep in mind that corporations, unlike people, are created by governments. They are a "legal fiction," and as such are creatures of the government. Remove government from the equation, and corporations cease to exist in their present form.
• On Seattle radio station KVI, Kirby Wilbur had a caller who grumbled that not only was Washington state governor Gary Locke wasting taxpayer money on trips to China, but worse than that, he was traveling with representatives from the Muckleshoot and Tulalip Indian tribes. Wilbur agreed that this concerned him, as well. While we may well question Governor Locke's trips to China, why do they think working with local tribes is tantamount to consorting with the enemy? Sounds racist to me!
• Sean Hannity cited a poll indicating that by a large margin Americans want the federal government to mitigate the high cost of prescription drugs, and he expressed "great concern" about this. But drug prescriptions cost so much because Americans are not allowed to shop for low cost alternatives. Drug manufacturers use the FDA to kill competition from nutritional alternatives. There is no sector of the American economy more dependent upon protectionism, isolationism, government welfare and government regulation of consumer choices than the drug companies. This is not free enterprise, and that's what should cause us "great concern."
• You can't delete the truth.
• Does morality come from religion, or does religion come from morality?
• October 10, 2003, Rush Limbaugh said, "The Democrats are using (the federal deficit) as a monster." That may be so, but a lot of Conservatives are very concerned about it, too.
• The reason to treat animals and the environment with reverence and respect has nothing to do with the animals and environment, and everything to do with us and our humanity. When we behave with reverence and respect, it elevates us.
• Some people see life's issues in black and white, others in shades of gray, but those with greater intellectual acuity see them in black and white speckles.
• In the small Washington state town of Marysville, public school teachers recently concluded one of the longest teachers' strikes in state history. Right-wing liberals complained that if the teachers truly cared about the children, they would have put the welfare of the children ahead of themselves and the economic welfare of their families. While I disagreed with the strike for other reasons, their views seem a little hypocritical given how they say they believe it's right for corporate executives to pursue their own self-interest. Shouldn't teachers have that right, too?
• The officer who interviewed Kate Faber testified that she willingly went to Kobe Bryant's room, that she flirted with and kissed him, and that then he raped her. Assuming this is an accurate recount, all the legal repercussions aside what we can say with certainty is that feminists share the blame. Why? Because feminists conned women into replacing prudence with stupidity. Is it a woman's right to be safe? Of course. Is it wrong to rape a woman? Of course. But as Ms. Faber found out, just because women have the right to behave stupidly doesn't mean it's right.
• A Washington state Lotto commercial features a woman who commits domestic violence against her boyfriend - "Kim slugs Dave" - and then wins the Lotto.
• In his October 9, 2003, speech, President Bush pointed out that the "world called for Mr. Saddam Hussein to disarm, to prove he had disarmed, not once, but time after time." How could he prove compliance? He couldn't. Disarming Saddam Hussein was a worthy goal, but by its very nature the mandate required the invasion of Iraq.
• It's easy for our political leaders and economic elite to speak strongly in support of spending billions and running up huge deficits to spread abroad American ideals. Unlike most Americans, they don't live paycheck-to-paycheck. Unlike many Americans, they do have health insurance. And unlike most Americans, their children are assured a college education and a good job.
• Right-wing liberals whine about campaigns against what they assert are harmless life-style choices, like smoking. But they are strangely silent about, if not actually supportive of, MADD's campaign against drinking and driving.
• Right-wing liberals complain bitterly about the assertion that driving a gas-guzzling SUV supports terrorism. They forget that this began as a response to the idiotic ads that claimed smoking marijuana grown in the USA supports terrorism.
• Feminists hate playful men.
• Predictably, Democrats blame Bush for a recession that started while Clinton was still in office. Just like the Republicans credited Ronald Reagan with every economic success during the Clinton administration. It will be interesting, however, to see how the GOP tries to blame George W. Bush's massive deficit on the Democrats.
• Washington state law requires all drivers to be insured. That's good. But if you cancel your coverage with one company, then call to set up new coverage with another company that same day, Washington state law requires the new company to treat you like a high-risk driver who's never been insured before, and charge you their highest rate. Not only does that amount to legalized price-gouging, but it encourages the poor to go without any coverage at all.
• On October 7, 2003, a caller to the Sean Hannity show claimed that anybody who voted for Ross Perot took "away a vote for George Bush Sr." Wrong. Each of us have a vote to give, and it's not somebody else's to lose.
• One of the reasons contributing to the reputation aspies (people with Asperger Disorder) have for lacking social graces is that aspies experience life less as episodic than serial in nature, and consequently we feel no compelling need to mark episodes with social rituals the way normal people do.
• One drawback of evolutionary psychology is that it does not take into account the Neanderthal factor.
• As I wrote several months ago, "Saddam Hussein is a bad, bad man, and he should die." The reasons used to resume the war against Iraq were, however, little more than a pretext and, thus, pragmatic. Pretenses aside, now that we're committed we have to go all the way. Just one question: aren't conservatives people who, more than anybody else, put principles ahead of pragmatism?
• When President Bill Clinton was in office, Hillary Clinton complained, on January 27, 1998, that he was the target of "a vast right-wing conspiracy." Now that the Bush Administration is in office, the right-wing is talking about a "left-wing conspiracy."
• Opposition to "tax the rich" schemes on the basis that "the rich" worked hard for their success ignores that most of "the rich" inherited their wealth.