Day 825: Meet The New You

originally published April 4, 2014 This might sound stupid – and I realize now as I plot out the journey of the remainder of this sentence that it does indeed sound fundamentally stupid down to the core of its clanging consonants – but I’ve always perceived a palpable thrill attached to the concept of the […]

Day 783: On The Attack – Scientology Puts On Its Ugly Face

originally published February 21, 2014 Not being particularly fond of organized religion, I nevertheless try to approach such topics with tact and compassion. So long as you’re not trying to bomb me, regulate my sex life or tell me how much bacon I’m allowed to cram into my eat-hole, I won’t attack your beliefs. But […]

Day 780: Evil Aboard Flight 8969

originally published February 18, 2014 When the doctrine of reason is flushed in favor of instinct and terror, the inevitable contusion of blood and debris is fairly predictable. Terrorists, who have been at their game for millennia in some form or another, simply don’t win. That is to say, while they can notch a namesake […]

Day 778: The Doctor Of Doom

originally published February 16, 2014 Once a half-century has elapsed since the final sonorous thump of a trial-ending gavel, one would expect that the truth had found the time to leak out. But the case of John Bodkin Adams remains as cloaked in murk and interpretation as it ever was. Even when the facts are […]

Day 775: The Case Of The $67 Million Pants

originally published February 13, 2014 As some of you may be aware, I am almost sort of a lawyer, kind of. I grant myself this professional designation because I studied for and subsequently wrote the LSAT exam about five years ago. And while I scored high enough to warrant getting black-out drunk and celebrating for […]

Day 773: Tales Of The Almost-Assassins

originally published February 11, 2014 Plotting the demise of a sitting United States president requires an impeccable form of madness, a meticulous disregard for common sense and a commitment to scratching the rest of one’s life off of one’s to-do list. Presidential assassins are not known for having impressive lifespans after pulling the trigger. Oswald […]

Day 761: Deconstructing The King Of The Con Men

originally published January 30, 2014 We live in the age of the celebrated antihero. A villainous protagonist like Tony Soprano or Walter White may vanquish our moral resistance, but those are fictional lawbreakers; in reality we want our deviants either behind bars or tucked snugly into the niche of the Robin Hood villain, should such a notion actually exist. Perhaps our […]

Day 753: Rampart’s Black & Blue Glare

originally published January 22, 2014 In 1973, long before the rise of crack cocaine and the ensuing (and ongoing) gangsta-chic branch of popular culture, the Los Angeles Police Department threw together a group they called TRASH: Total Resources Against Street Hoodlums. The nickname suggested a smidgen of inherent bias, so the unit was renamed CRASH, with […]

Day 751: Lights Out In Birmingham

originally published January 20, 2014 Today many of my American counterpart civil servants are enjoying the joyous meaty pulp of a long weekend. I don’t blame you; for many, the deep-freeze has passed and it’s once again tolerable to expose one’s scalp to the outdoor elements. But today serves a greater purpose than allowing the […]

Day 739: ‘Freedom’ Is In The Eye Of The Guy With The Big Stick

originally published January 8, 2014 Looking for a way to feel old? With a few exceptions, the only people who vividly remember the events of 9/11 first-hand are now legally eligible to vote. Those of us who can recall it are easily able to summon that cool twitch of nerves below the surface of our […]