SPIDER Blog

- by Robert Berning

I Don’t Believe It

Here’s a list of things I don’t believe at the moment – and my comments. The crime rate is going down. The national statistics on crime are dependent on reporting by local law enforcement agencies.... Read More

Liberal Republicans and Conservative Democrats

In today’s world of U.S. politics, the title looks like it’s backwards – that it’s the other way around, dummy. Certainly that’s the impression made by the ‘wings’ of both Parties and one the public... Read More

The New, Expanded Axis of Evil

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush coined the term "axis of evil" to describe Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. He highlighted the potential threat posed by these states and their... Read More

The New, Expanded Axis of Evil

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush coined the term "axis of evil" to describe Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. He highlighted the potential threat posed by these states and their... Read More

Unraveling the Notion of Insurrection

To explore the concept posed by the title of this piece, we don't need to venture far from our historical roots. The Declaration of Independence, a seminal insurrectionist document, served as a bold challenge to... Read More

The Fearsome Foursome

Noone needs polls to tell us that the country is suffering from four serious maladies/deficiencies. One: The Economy Two: Immigration Three: Crime Four: Foreign Policy The Economy Our federal government has gotten so big, so... Read More

Waging a Green War

With several wars underway in the world and sitting on the precarious precipice of more, particularly in the Middle East, I got to thinking the other day of the war the US would wage when... Read More

We’ve Created a Monstrosity

It’s so easy – that is, it’s so easy to be miserable. Maybe it’s more important for us to put some perspective on what some ideologists are telling us – many using the media as... Read More

A Stupid Exercise

Merriam-Webster defines ‘stupid’ as: having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense. What I’m talking about is the US Debt Ceiling. In 1939 Congress first established the debt limit as its practiced... Read More

Tomboys Are Girls

I don’t know if the word tomboy is used anymore. I do know in my time there were tomboys, and they were girls. They were girls whose interests were more in physical sports, playing and... Read More