Uncategorized

Celebrating 5 Years of AVftR (plus a Top 10)!

Posted by on October 19, 2014 at 8:00 pm

This month marks the 5th anniversary of the maiden post for “A View from the Right”. I can hardly believe it has been that long! That first post was the beginning of a 9-part series called “What’s So Bad (or Great) about Obamacare?”, and it was my first attempt at writing anything of the sort. […]

On Botched Executions

Posted by on May 4, 2014 at 9:04 pm

One day in Oklahoma in 1999, Clayton Lockett and a couple friends decided to rob a house. Unfortunately for 19-year-old Stephanie Neiman, she and a friend came “home” to that house, interrupting the intruders. I don’t know what happened to her friend, but Stephanie was beaten and bound with duct tape. Lockett shot her twice […]

Change of Plans, Sorta…

Posted by on February 19, 2014 at 11:26 pm

No, no, I’m not the new U.S. ambassador to New Zealand. (Darn it!) This is something else. Remember a few weeks ago, when I announced that I would be starting to post about sci-fi/fantasy and action/adventure stuff on this blog? (If not, just trust me. I said it.) I know several of my friends and […]

And, Now, for Something Completely Different….

Posted by on January 29, 2014 at 9:09 pm

Announcement! Announcement! Announcement! OK, the news isn’t really all that fantastic, nor is it super or amazing. It certainly isn’t incredible or even uncanny. Some of you may think it’s just ho-hum. But, I have decided to occasionally post about something totally unrelated to the major subjects of this blog — namely, sci-fi/fantasy and action/adventure. […]

Informal Logic 101: How to Think and Argue Better, Part 10

Posted by on January 19, 2014 at 8:40 pm

Part 10: Scarecrows, Decoys, and Invisible Elephants We get three lessons today, boys and girls, as we head into the home stretch for this series (sort of)! Straw Man Everyone has heard of this one. You don’t have to be involved in debates and discussions on controversial topics for long before someone accuses someone else […]

9 Things You Might Not Know about Christmas

Posted by on December 24, 2013 at 9:34 pm

OK, something rather less weighty or theologically-oriented this year. This Christmas post has little to do with the biblical Nativity and more to do with Christmas traditions in general. (Maybe I should do another one someday with just Christian-oriented things?) But, I think you may find it fun and informative, anyway. It’s a sort of […]

What to Make of the New Muslim Superhero on the Block

Posted by on November 10, 2013 at 8:32 pm

“Solid female characters, not just superheroes, are essential for the Arab world at this time of unprecedented violence against women.”  — Joumana Merhej, creator of female Muslim superhero “Malaak” (quoted by Salon editor/writer Prachi Gupta) A Facebook friend of mine posted an article announcing Marvel Comics’ new “Muslim Girl Superhero”, which will debut in January […]

Costumes, Candy, and Courting Evil

Posted by on October 29, 2013 at 6:00 pm

“But examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”  — I Thessalonians 5:21 (NASB) I’m not really into Halloween. Haven’t been for years. Sure, in my early years, I did the whole trick-or-treating thing. I remember, when I was around 5 or 6, I went out dressed […]

Columbus and the Indians

Posted by on October 13, 2013 at 11:45 pm

It’s controversial holiday time, again. Yaaayyy!!! Columbus Day is celebrated as a U.S. federal holiday (since 1936) in honor of the intrepid explorer Christopher Columbus’ initial landing in the Bahamas and, therefore, the Americas. The facts that Columbus was a) not the first non-native to “find” the New World (ask Leif Erickson) and that b) […]

Pros & Cons of Online Debates and Discussions

Posted by on August 25, 2013 at 8:31 pm

“Use soft words and hard arguments.”  — English proverb “Soft words are hard arguments.”  — Thomas Fuller (emphasis mine) Among the various books I have in progress, lately I’ve been reading Arguing with Friends: Keeping your friends and your convictions by Paul Buller. It’s a relatively thin book, but I only read 2 or 3 […]