The launch of a new blog

I've long been interested in philosophy, particularly political philosophy, since late in high school. I was introduced to Ayn Rand's novel "The Fountainhead" by a colleague at the Syracuse Post Standard newspaper, and it changed my way of thinking about many things.

Halfway through college in the 1970's, I became interested in current national events. This was the time of Watergate, and my heroes were U.S. Senators Sam Ervin and Howard Baker. Once each week, I would walk to the store in Auburn, NY at my girlfriend's (now wife) apartment, get the brand-new copy of Newsweek magazine that had just arrived, and would return and consume it, quickly and excitedly.

I've decided to focus my current blog, "Pa's Blog," on just about everything except politics, but particularly family, and to publish ruminations about current events and history in this new blog, "The eye of the storm."

You get more flies with honey than with vinegar, it's said, so I will mightily endeavor to avoid hyperbole, blind single-mindedness and bitterness. We need solutions, not rancor. But the slippery slope which we're currently stumbling down is genuinely frightening to me, and my emotion, anger, joy, sadness, the occasional victory - will be very evident at times.

But I'd much rather engage your thinking, and your views, so we can get to the bottom of this, together. The road, however, may be a bit rocky at times. Welcome aboard.