By Jason Miller

While it's a commonly held belief that "everyone has a nonbiological twin somewhere in the world," I wonder if we all have an antithetical "anti-twin" as well. Because I recently met someone who could easily be mine. Ironically enough, it was at the public library, one of my favorite haunts.

By Jason Miller

Dedicated to Bobbie L.

4/3/08

In the sermon just minutes before his death, Archbishop Oscar Romero (a man who truly practiced the teachings of Christ) reminded his congregation of the parable of the wheat. "Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ, will live like the grains of wheat that dies. It only apparently dies. If it were not to die, it would remain a solitary grain. The harvest comes because of the grain that dies We know that every effort to improve society, above all when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God blesses; that God wants; that God demands of us. I am bound, as a pastor, by divine command to give my life for those whom I love, and that is all Salvadoreans, even those who are going to kill me."

--These words appeared in a newspaper just two weeks before Archbishop Romero was shot (by a filthy Right Wing Death Squad supported by the US) while celebrating Holy Communion in the hospital which had been his home since his enthronement in 1977.

"You could piss off Jesus Christ himself!"

--Russ Miller

Mr. Hannity: We cannot excuse terrorists as "...men driven to their bad acts by the injustices of Western society". (p. 3)

My response: As a Catholic, I agree that there is no excuse for deliberate evil. If a person commits a bad act with full knowledge of what he is doing and full consent of the will, he is guilty of mortal sin, as the Catholic Church teaches and as I presume Hannity believes. Ultimately, that person can only blame himself for committing the act.

"Here There Be Monsters"

Essay by Jason Miller

"America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy."

--John Quincy Adams

While it certainly was not his intent, Adams' assertion serves to remind us of a truth revealed by vast oceans of tears, torrential rivers of blood, and formidable piles of human remains. Leaving murder, mayhem, and misery in its wake, America does "go abroad," but not, as Adams noted, "in search of monsters to destroy." What Adams failed to perceive, despite living in the midst of the Native American genocide and the abject evil of chattel slavery, is that America is the monster.

Treasuring our American Values of Greed, Self-Interest, and Enlightened Oppression

by Ragnar Redbeard III

"What kind of a society isn't structured on greed? The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm; capitalism is that system."

---Milton Friedman

What kind indeed? Certainly not a prodigious society such as ours. Thanks to Capitalism, the United States is replete with opulence, might, and benevolence.

Guided by the brilliant foresight of Hamilton, manacled by men like Keynes, Galbraith, and FDR, and ultimately granted a refreshing degree of freedom by the heroic intellectual efforts of Rand and Friedman, Adam Smith's "invisible hand" has wrought a citadel for those wishing to pursue healthy greed, self-interest, and enlightened oppression. While Capitalism in the United States is still afflicted with the diseases of a mixed economy, government regulation and socialistic tendencies, America's socioeconomic system is far superior to any rival, past or present.

If you could gather one hundred or so of the best minds on the planet and serve them a list of questions compiled from "ordinary people" all over the world what might you expect from such a gathering?

We may find out soon because according to the emails I've been receiving from a group called "dropping knowledge" just such a meeting is in the works:

On September 9, 2006, 112 scientists, social entrepreneurs, philosophers, writers, artists and activists from around the world will come together in Berlin, Germany, as guests of dropping knowledge. Seated around a vast round-table in the heart of the city, these remarkable individuals, renowned for the creative, social and humanistic impact of their work, will engage with 100 questions from the global public. These questions, selected by dropping knowledge's founders and ambassadors from the many thousands generated by our "What's Your Question?" campaign, will reflect the topics of greatest concern to the global public, emphasize under-reported issues and engage key themes endorsed by dropping knowledge in 2006.

This is not a question of Right v. Left, but Right v. Wrong

The Mission Statement on the Hilton Web site is:
To be the first choice of the world's travelers.

Our Mission Statement needs to be equally clear:
To show Hilton that bad choices have bad consequences.