http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/Creative commentary very loosely-based on Thomas Paine's Common Sense. The name "Hemlocker" refers symbolically to one whose convictions and beliefs could lead to his demise, as with Socrates, who drank hemlock rather than yield to the state. "You will do me the justice to remember, that I have always strenuously supported the Right of every Man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it." --Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason hourly12000-01-01T12:00+00:00http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/334797Well, my friends, it has been a blast but I need a break and a more focused perspective. I have learned a great deal from all of you, and truly enjoyed the cyber-cameraderie you have offered so unselfishly. We didn't always agree, but for the most part, we always respected and valued each other....http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/333184My Friends, Being a Blogiteer has been of great value. My writing has become more disciplined and I've done more of it on various subjects in the past eight months than probably would have been done without Blogit. I've had the opportunity to be exposed to many opinions, approaches to life, and...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/332053Everyone knows that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is the anti-poster boy for conservative Republicans. Kennedy is the paradigm of a “liberal Democrat”, the guy who’s “got it wrong” his whole life. If Kennedy believes in it, it has to be bad. If Kennedy supports it, it must be defeated. But...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/331616I think my rant about being done wrong by an otherwise nice lady whom some of you care for, had more to do with my commitment to free speech and free expression, then with anything she did. We are fortunate to be able to express ourselves in this great country without too much worry about the...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/331328All right, I am ashamed to admit it, but on some occasions, I have wished that certain bloggers would just go away. It would be a massive understatement to say that some Blogit members see things very differently from others, and that divergent opinions abound. Of course it's annoying to post...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/330966According to a recent poll on Fox News, which continues to amaze me with its perspicuity, the question was asked, "Do you think Santa listed President Bush as 'nice' or 'naughty' this year?" Thirty-eight per cent said "nice" and forty-seven per cent said "naughty", which is probably fairly close...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/330426"What is" strives for truth. "What if" is irrelevant.--Salman Rushdie I want to offer a couple of poems to harmony in the New Year: Jehovah came to cut the corn; Allah brought his flute; Zeus and Hera played croquet; Jesus wore a tweed suit. Buddha danced in a calico gown; Thor ate a hot cross...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/330018Sometimes I cannot resist putting something in here which I did not write, for the sake of all those who are always admonishing critics of our policies to "do the research" and "read your history". The following, from our own Department of Defense, should prove instructive to those who may not be...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/329954This is a poem, but also my opinion of the death penalty. What is yours? LETHAL INJECTION: for Tookie Williams In timeless suspension, he plays his passive instrument, weary of the orange morning and the frothy glow of the sea. His fingers wander darkly in a land of diminishing pain, where...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/329730One of the favorite myths--or perhaps partial truths--in our American lives is that “hard work” inevitably leads to success. For some people, in certain circumstances, the notion that we can accomplish anything if only we are willing to work hard, serves as a positive spur to attitude and...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/329448Upon the occasion, a few years ago, of what used to be called Armistice Day, I remember a cartoon depiction of the “family tradition” of members “giving their lives” in our wars. The first picture is of an Ichabod Crane-looking man in a uniform of the American Revolution. A bullet has penetrated...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/328717Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! "Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/328562A legendary president of the 1970s, when speaking his mind or answering an impertinent question, often would preface his remarks with "Let me be perfectly clear (harrumph, harrumph”). Richard Milhouse Nixon, 37th president of the United States, left behind him an astonishing range of sins. He...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/327527A few days ago, my beautiful, upscale daughter and nearly five year-old granddaughter accompanied me to a showing of “The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe.” This was rather an event for me because I’d enjoyed reading all seven volumes of The Chronicles of Narnia with my children when they were...http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Hemlocker/326970Let’s get away for a while from torture, domestic spying, Iraq, the ACLU’s war on Christianity, life-like assault weapons at Toys R Us, and other minor issues, and talk about a really controversial subject, i.e., fuzzy versus smooth. That’s right, in the midst of the so-called “culture wars”,...