I am a golfer; of course I swear. I know only one golfer who doesn’t.

The horrible killings of last Friday in Newtown, Conn. instantly elicited a huge range of responses, as it should. It is a tribute to our collective psyche that we continue to be shocked, outraged, stunned by such events. In spite of their frequency we are not yet inured to them, but their frequency is growing. 

No, the measure legalizing pot smoking does not change my mind about the morality of either Cannabis Sativa or its use. I don’t think any drugs are in and of themselves moral or immoral, but the purposes for which they are produced tell a different story.

I waited for a week before writing anything on the election because I wanted to see how durable my first impressions of the outcome would be. My first impressions turned out to be pretty durable; I am still happy with the outcome for two reasons. First, it represents our best chance to plot a stable and moderate course toward reducing the deficit by sharing the burden across the entire spectrum of American people and not simply forcing the poor to pay for the whole thing.

The Oct. 15 issue of Newsweek had a fascinating article by Dr. Eben Alexander entitled "My Proof of Heaven." Alexander is a neurosurgeon who describes himself as a man who “considered myself a faithful Christian,” but more so, “in name than in actual belief.” He tells us that he “sympathized deeply with those who wanted to believe that there was a God somewhere out there who loved us unconditionally.”

This question didn’t interest me when I first read it, but upon reflection I realized it gets at something very important.

Think back for a moment to the days of the Roman Empire; back then from the point of view of Imperial Rome God sounded like marching armies and the clash of weapons in combat.