This weekend, while watching the “War on Christmas” fights going back and forth on Facebook, I decided to research a specific line that I remembered using as a tagline …sometime awhile back. I couldn’t remember when, so I looked for it — and was quite amused to find that it had been 10 years ago exactly.
Rant
Bashing the “Lamestream Media”
A good friend “shared” something on social media not too long ago that really made me roll my eyes.
Why I Embrace “Gay Marriage”
Simply put, I fully believe in the idea that “all men* are created equal” and are entitled to equal protection under the law.
*(“men” being a generic word for humans, as in “mankind” — I believe the statement equally applies to women.)
Provoking Thought: Child Support Division
It’s nice when someone else goes on a rant, so I don’t have to!
A story by Mike Straw in last week’s (30 December 2012) issue went for the laugh in the tagline. A reader — Wayne, in the U.S. military and deployed to Afghanistan — thought Mike should have gone more for “thought-provoking.” Let’s start with the story:
“Never-Ending Pledge-Week”
After years and years on this distribution, Jeff in Virginia unsubscribed last week, complaining there were “too many ads for the premium edition — it like [sic] a never-ending pledge-week on PBS.”
Ethics Train Wreck
Last week, my BS-o-Meter failed, and a fake story made it into This is True.
“Gay-Baiting”
I’ve made no secret that I’m pretty much 100 percent egalitarian. I’ve defended the religious, the non-religous, the “the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians,” and many others in True’s stories. I’m interested in whether people walk their talk, not whether they’re religious, gay, atheist, pagan, Muslim, employed, educated — whatever.
Another Week, Another Pack
of Clueless School Officials
Two stories this week deserve some follow-up: one that’s pretty light-hearted, and the other …much less so.
Let’s start with the comedy; both stories are from True’s 13 May 2012 issue:
Two Tiny Scandals
Two stories this week will, I think, generate some comments from readers. One has a zero tolerance theme, and the other is a minor political scandal. They’re both from True’s 19 February 2012 issue.
Zero Tolerance: Alive and Well
When I run a string of zero tolerance stories, readers typically respond, “What should we do about this?” What I don’t want you to do is emailbomb the school officials or school boards involved.
Rural Electrification, Meet the Rural Internet
Back in the early years of the 20th century, as cities were starting to get electrical power, that was the problem: only cities were getting electrical power.
Are You Liberal, or Conservative?
I think a couple of stories this week will make some people’s heads explode.
Forever Doomed to Repeat History
One of the best things about writing This is True is I’m always learning interesting things.
The Euphemism Treadmill
I ran a story in this week’s issue in part to provoke. Before my editorializing here’s the story, from the 19 June 2011 issue:
There’s No Such Thing as Writer’s Block
A friend of mine asked me for some advice last week. He’s preparing to leave the military, and thought writing might be his next career. Did I have any pearls of wisdom?
I gave him two main pieces of advice. The second one: he must understand that there’s no such thing as “writer’s block.”
Ooh! Do It Again!
Last week I did a harder-than-usual “push” for subscription upgrades. You might like to know the excellent result: 32 upgrades. Just 32 upgrades is “excellent”?! Yep. The week before, it was four. The week before that was better: 15.
The End of the World: 2011 Edition
I can’t just title this page “The End of the World” because that has been predicted before. And before that. And before that, and — well, you get the idea.
Father of the Year, Or…?
A story this week by True contributor Jennifer Weiner struck me the wrong way, so I sent it back for a rewrite. I thought you might find the original story intriguing, as well as her reaction to my rewrite request.
I Want to Complain, But…
It happens once in awhile that someone really wants to whine at me for something, but doesn’t have the guts to sign their name. Normally, such complaints are summarily trashed: if they can’t even sign their name to their opinion, then really, what’s that opinion worth?
Fighting the Good Guys
There always has to be at least one idiot in the crowd. The people who fight against the fight against zero tolerance and zero thought, and create more problems for victims — like the girl I told you about last week who was raped at school.