Blog Posts

I suppose I will never stop reckoning years like a student. Some part of me still believes that the year begins right after summer vacation. Thus, today marks the beginning of another year. I returned to the office this morning after a month away. Just as when I was a student, the new year excites...

Did you know that the state of California imprisons more people than do the nations of France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands combined? We have 2.3 million people behind bars in this country. That is 25 percent of the total number of persons imprisoned worldwide. By...

The dogs know something up. I swear it. I am sitting with a cup of coffee planning the day. Odysseus saunters up tossing a sock into the air. I take the sock, reminding him that they are not toys. He sits looking at me; his sister Penny hustles over, she sits too. They are extra obedient this...

I am the son of an illegal immigrant. My father was born in Crete. He and his father snuck across the border from Canada to the United States in the 1930s. My father eventually forged papers to create a paper trail that permitted him to live in the United States for the vast majority of his...

The rape and murder of nine-year-old Jessisa Lunsford in 2005 was a terrible thing. The fact that her attacker was a violent sexual predator with a past reinforces our fear that the world is filled with dangerous sexual predators. But the fact remains that most people accused of sex offenses are...

The rape and murder of nine-year-old Jessisa Lunsford in 2005 was a terrible thing. The fact that her attacker was a violent sexual predator with a past reinforces our fear that the world is filled with dangerous sexual predators. But the fact remains that most people accused of sex offenses are...

I ought to be grateful that Fox News even hosted a debate. Normally, the mere mention of the topic has folks running for the doors. Acknowledging that the issues are complex is progress. When it comes to reform of sex offender legislation, there is too often too little time given to debate. So...

I ought to be grateful that Fox News even hosted a debate. Normally, the mere mention of the topic has folks running for the doors. Acknowledging that the issues are complex is progress. When it comes to reform of sex offender legislation, there is too often too little time given to debate. So...

One thing that dogs teach is patience. Odysseus has taught me plenty. When it comes to sheep, he is a monster. I can train him only at the cost of hurting him. That's a step I am unwilling to take.
Ody is a border collie, a member of a breed cultivated for its instinct in herding sheep. But in...

I have a question or two remaining for Gerry Spence. Since he no longer publishes my comments on his blog, I will post them here. (He recently returned to blogging after a hiatus of several months. I shot a note to welcome him back, but the note sits, "awaiting moderation," in Internet oblivion...