I read an interesting article in today's Washington Post by Michelle Boorstein, "Survey: Culture War Truce on the Horizon" http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/08/culture_wars.html?hpid=topnews as to whether current trends indicate a reversal in some of the trends among peo

I just lived the experience of Hurricane Gustav’s path through Louisiana.

Reading about the incident involving the mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland and how the police raided his home made me worry about what is happening to individual rights in this country.  Apparently, without first knocking on the door or otherwise announcing their presence, the police broke down the front door of the mayor's home in order to enter the property.  This was definitely an act of extreme violence that would have a terrorizing effect on anyone who experienced it.  I remember when people used to think that their home was their castle.  But if breaking the door down was not enough, there was also the senseless killing of the family's two labrador dogs.  That act was so shocking, cruel and contemptuous.