John Shuey's letter ("Union bashing," Nov. 4) tries to point out the evils of management while vainly attempting to show the virtues of unionism. Let me point out to him that while unions did play an important role during the early 20th century in ridding the many abuses that management was guilty of, this is no longer the case. ...more

November 8, 2009

The Haunted Trail that exists only a few days a year that is known to provide thrills and chills has reappeared on Golddust Road with a vengeance. ...more

October 24, 2009

Recent observations concerning whether we lost or won a given war suggest that we have begun to perceive war and its consequences by the same standards that apply to sporting events. The score board is the final arbiter of results and there must be a winner and a loser. Contests which formerly could end in a tie are now resolved by overtime, shoot outs, or extra innings in order to achieve the necessary determination. ...more

February 15, 2009

Protecting children from the pitfalls and perils of the world is a job most parents take very seriously. We go to great lengths to teach our young right from wrong, keep them warm, clothed and fed. We lay awake nights worrying about how to expose them to the things they must know about and how to shelter them from the bad they don't need to know about just yet. ...more

November 12, 2008

I and just about everybody I know are totally fed up with this election, which has been ongoing ever since the congressional elections two years ago. And if that isn't bad enough, we end up with two candidates offering lesser-of-evils choices. ...more

October 20, 2008

Original document edited for space: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. ...more

July 3, 2008

Writing and editing more than 100 recipes for a cookbook that I'm doing is no easy task. In fact, it's quite a bit more intense than I had ever imagined. The more-than-occasional brain farts and writer's block are tough, and usually I can deal with those moments by distracting myself with a massive, industrial-sized roll of bubble wrap. It's uniquely satisfying, covering three out of five senses in less than two seconds. Pop! Pip! Pop! ...more

July 1, 2008

Memorial Day About Honoring War Dead ...more

May 29, 2008

I attended the meeting at the VFW in order to find out what Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio had to say. I was all primed to leave angry, but it didn't happen. ...more

December 26, 2007

"Letters from Nuremberg: My Father's Narrative of a Quest For Justice," by Sen. Christopher Dodd (Crown, $25.95) ...more

November 11, 2007