Rick Cropper Writes

Osama Usama We-sama: Show me the body!

2011-05-05T10:24:00.000-04:00

O WHOM? O WHAT? PROVE IT! The Late George Carlin said many times, “I do not believe anything that our government says about anything, ever!” While I would not wish to diminish the laudable efforts of an American team of heroes who may have, indeed, accomplished the great coup of killing Osama Bin Laden, I am not yet sold. Two misgivings trouble me. Foremost, show me the body. Don’t ask me

Westboro "Baptist" Church - An Apocolypse of Protest

2011-04-08T13:56:00.000-04:00

Regarding the Westboro “Baptist” Church, I am quite passionate about their issue..... Since a self-proclaimed "Church" sees their goal to deliver further trauma and hate to the families of the military, gays, supporters of Gay Rights (Elizabeth Taylor), supporters of the military, etc., it would seem simple to protest equally at all of Westboro's services, funerals of their membership, at the

Corporations More Threatened Than People

2010-11-29T11:48:00.000-05:00

THANK GOD FOR HOMELAND SECURITY? As an American, I am under-whelmed by the fact that our government, and several like-minded European governments, have the stealth capability to routinely shut down & cut the access to a website called "Pirate Bay," which offers open source programs and downloads to copyrighted movies, applications, and costly programs. This huge threat boils down

Calico Conversation

2010-11-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

A CALICO CONVERSATION A Calico cat and I chatted today. He didn’t say nuthin’ and I didn’t say much. Comfortable, on a wooden bench on a porch on a farm. My approach disturbed his solace. “I’m not here to bother you,” I explained, looking into his eyes. Back down he laid. Cats know. Calico Cats know in crazy. We just sat, my hand rubbing Calico’s head. Until time to go came, our side-by-side

Congress' Impotent Decisions

2010-10-27T15:30:00.000-04:00

IMPOTENT DECISIONS Do you have important decisions to make before you leave work today? Did you have to finish important work yesterday? Do you have a personal, critical deadline for tomorrow? Do what Congress does. Walk away from it. Go on vacation. Make a determined decision not to decide. Most important, take no significant action that could make you look bad in the coming months. Put off

Yellow Ducks & Jean Marie

2010-06-28T11:52:00.001-04:00

I normally pack everything meticulously.Somehow, the mini-mac's mouse didn't get put in the "mac bag" along with everything else related to the Mac.Only two boxes remain to be opened from my time in Raleigh.Trucking out in the heat to the shed this morning, I chose the easy one. The one marked "Phones & OC Toys."In the top was a bag of ducks. Anyone who knows me and the big tub that bathes me

Health Care Reform: Tit for Tat

2010-01-08T14:02:00.002-05:00

Health Care Reform:On Tuesday, the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment that would require all Members and their staffs to enroll in any newly passed government-run health plan.If our Congress forces the touted health care reform package on the American people, then Congress should have to accept the same level of health care for themselves and their families. To

Rainy Day Thursday

2009-10-16T14:45:00.005-04:00