I live in a little pocket of the Midwest that is literally obsessed with the concept of "the Nanny State".  There are multiple reasons for this obsession over a myth - but most can be traced back to a single AM talk radio host who can't stop talking about it.

Imagine my surprise when I was invited to be a weekly columnist for a newspaper in a 70% Conservative county, just west of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  I warned the editor about the feedback he was going to get about my writing, and he was willing to make the leap anyway.

Without further adieu, here's my first weekly column, completely mis-headlined by the headline writer, but fun to write and fun to read, nonetheless.  

Child Safety is not a Political Issue

My personal favorite line is as follows:  "Some of these parents may also believe they are gifted with eagle eyes and cat-like reflexes, not unlike Dick Cheney on a quail hunt. OK, so perhaps that not the best analogy..."  What can I say - I crack myself up.

Thus far, I've only received one incoherent feedback email, which stated that the writer lives in the suburbs to escape "Blue Urban Decadence".  Don't ask me... I just read the emails, I don't claim to be a wingnut translator.