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Joined: 2009-08-30
Columns on STR: 22
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Jeff Baxter . . . Been there, done that.  His website is www.fyicolumn.blogspot.com

 

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Columns by Jeff Baxter

Poof!
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Jeff Baxter 2005-05-02 16:00
Oh, well . . . That was a long piece . . . and all I had to do was hit publish. But the publisher within me killed it. Sometimes it is the act of writing--sorting out thoughts and events and potentials--that serves the purpose. Other times, things get published because the need to respond is greater than the peace of solitude and personal reflection.
9/11 in Laymen's Terms
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Jeff Baxter 2005-01-24 17:00
What has the last 40 months wrought in our favor as a nation, if one is so inclined to think in terms of America as a nation anymore? Afghanistan is still effectively ruled by warlords, the pretense of a free election there notwithstanding. Iraq is still effectively a three-way civil conflict between Shi-ites, Sunnis, and the Kurds, with or without Saddam. Al-Quaida, whatever the origins and...
The Real Nation--Free of the Curse
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Jeff Baxter 2004-11-02 17:00
Symbolic (or literal) shots of Tennessee Jack Black for 8 straight games. Hair styles that would send barbers into fits, were barbers so inclined. Styles of dress that had MTV fans shaking their heads in rank disapproval. A boss who joined in. Owners who looked only at results of the efforts. Opponents who will spend a winter shaking their heads wondering what happened. Folks--welcome to the...
Holy Day of Obligation--Revisited
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Jeff Baxter 2004-11-02 17:00
By the time anyone reads this, one of two determinations about this November 2nd, 2004 "election" will have been made already. As happened four years ago, we may or may not know which prop/perp/pol has been elected, willingly, by the voting slaves of America. But one determination is already in. "We the people" are indeed slaves. We as "the people" don't believe that to be so, but when MTV and...
Out of the Cornfield--Thoreau Was a Red Sox Fan
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Jeff Baxter 2004-02-26 17:00
Okay, this won't make the top ten of any anarchist site. It is too sentimental, and as an anarchist, one must must eschew sentimentalism. Bullshit. One of the problems most "movements" in life and politics have, is that they take themselves TOO seriously, and miss the big picture. Why chase a cause if chasing the cause is all there is? "Field of Dreams." Short synopsis? Corn farmer hears voices...
There Oughtta Be a Law!
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Jeff Baxter 2004-02-17 17:00
Uh, please spare me. We have hundreds of thousands too many already. I haven't been to Newsmax.com for some time, because it is like the online version of FOX NEWS on the lobotomy box--and both produce the precise equivalent to what occurs to my central nervous system when fingernails are scratched across a chalkboard. But today I gave in. As I scrolled down, I came across an article by Al...
RAID!!!!!!
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Jeff Baxter 2004-02-11 17:00
When my buddy and I were in the home rehab business, we usually had to check out the new, upcoming jobs in the evening, since we were working during the day. Key in hand, we would enter the new rehab project. Then I would reach for light switch, and as the light came on we would hear and see the roaches scurry to their nests. We knew we had some real work to do. The quickest way to do so, was...
WMD of Freedom
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Jeff Baxter 2003-12-14 17:00
The STR poll for last weekend contained a list of freedoms, and asked readers to vote for the freedom you treasure most. I thought about it for a long time this morning. Given my mini-bio at the end of my columns, one might figure I would have opted for the second freedom listed, that of religion, but that is really recognized and merged with the first freedom, so as the First Amendment reads,...
On Worship
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Jeff Baxter 2003-11-11 17:00
By nature, man worships. Veneration. What is holy to life. It can be the mate one loves. It can be children. It can be job or career. It can be a philosophy. It can be a hobby or special facet of life. It can be metaphysical, and take in the many a various expressions of "God" as they are found in the world. And it can be all of the above.
The People's Business
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Jeff Baxter 2003-11-02 17:00
How many times have we heard someone say There ought to be a Law! about something they dislike? I cringe every time I hear it. Haven't we more than enough laws already? I don't have any exact figures as to the number of laws presently in existence, but one theological wit put it best when he said, "There are a million laws that have been created to say what the Ten Commandments put most...
Dream a Little Dream
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Jeff Baxter 2003-09-14 16:00
It has been a newsworthy month thus far. The bloody fiasco in Iraq continues as the administration dances a propaganda jig trying to re-explain its intentions while the body bags keep coming home. The Terminator is stalking California, and his main opponent is running on promises to increase the root cause of the problems the state faces. The maudlin prostitution of 9/11 as a political gimmick...
Arnold for President
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Jeff Baxter 2003-08-10 16:00
Not really, of course. He is a moderate Republican with ties way too close to Camelot.
The Premier WMD
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Jeff Baxter 2003-07-10 16:00
I have read any number of news items that have almost induced me to write the last few weeks, but others were saying what I was thinking in a far better manner, so I read and learned and read some more. Today, I caught a small AP newsblurb that just sort of hit some hidden button within, and while it seems small and insignificant in comparison to the enormity of present world events and dangers,...
Permission To Be Free
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Jeff Baxter 2003-06-18 16:00
I am ambivalent re: same sex marriages--not my cup of tea, and I'd rather have a cold long-neck and an intelligent woman to talk to . . . but I digress. I caught the story last night--and I caught the hints of Ontario preparing to decide on it several weeks back. While it appears that it is a victory for personal freedom, in reality, it is not. It is a mere shift by the government in how it...
Falling in Love...Again
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Jeff Baxter 2003-05-11 16:00
Once you do, you can never go back to the past. I liken it best to finally having been freed from a domineering shrew, and discovering the sweet intoxication of loving a woman to whom you wish to give your all, and who likewise, has an intensity and burning passion to give you all her treasures.
WMD
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Jeff Baxter 2003-04-02 16:00
The State of Oregon has two things that gives it a distinct "flavor"--if you will, over against many other states of the union. First, it has a population that, in general, tends to vote and speak contrary to commonly accepted political views. Second, Oregon has its own "Eugene"--also once know as "Skinner's Mud Hole."
Daddy, Who Won the War?
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Jeff Baxter 2003-03-30 16:00
Well, son, let me explain . . . . I have watched the RCBW network (Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, Wolfowitz under the guise of the Murdoch enterprise known as FOX), give the lie to their motto stated ad nauseum: "Fair and balanced." I have watched even the liberals who want to place America into a version of socialism the old Soviets would envy, capitulate and express support.
No Apology Necessary
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Jeff Baxter 2003-03-26 17:00
In theology, the practice of defending the faith is called "apologetics." Countless folks down through the ages have engaged in the practice, with noble intent, for better or for worse.
The Journey
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Jeff Baxter 2003-03-24 17:00
I was young, and impressionable. Raised by those of a generation whose patriotism and self-identity as Americans was unquestioned, honed to a fine point by those family members who fought in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam, there was no question in my mind. The fact that my draft lottery number was so high that I would never be drafted mattered little. I enlisted. USAF.
Holy Day of Obligation
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Jeff Baxter 2002-11-05 17:00
It is classic Americana--for weeks and months, the pols and pol wanna-be's running all over--from chicken BBQ's to black-tie fundraisers and everything in between--trying to persuade total strangers that they, the pols and pwb's, know what is best for everyone. It sounds good--how they wish to 'serve' us and our interests, and make life even better for us all.
Why I Disagree...
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Jeff Baxter 2002-08-25 16:00
It was said earlier today that things will never be the same after 9/11. In a way, that is true. Some 3,000 souls are no longer among us, and more than most, I abhor their absence from our midst.
The Ubiquitous Lie
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Jeff Baxter 2002-07-28 16:00
It is everywhere--driver's manuals, Secretary of State and License offices nationwide, on radio ads where Officer Friendly always reminds you that if you step out of line as he defines it, your ass is grass. If you lived down here during the strict water rationing last summer, you would have heard commercials produced by the state that would make Mikhail Gorbachev weep in memory of the good old...