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Ah, the knives of the fundamentalists are in full stab mode, as word about my book, Passing Through, makes its way through the ranks of the faithful. I first want to take a moment to sincerely thank all those who have taken it upon themselves to scurry like rats to and from the Internet, carrying crumbs of gossip, lies, and half-truths back to the dank nest the rest of us know as fundamentalism. Without their energetic efforts, the sales of my book and essays would not be nearly as gratifying. I could not have afforded the level of publicity I have been granted. And for that, I am truly grateful.

Yeah, that’s right. I’m giving away free copies of “Passing Through” to anyone interested in reading the book and posting a review on Amazon. The paperback retails for $10.99 on Amazon, but you can get a FREE digital copy by going to the Contact Page and sending me an email request. That’s right! All you have to do is ask and agree to post a review on Amazon.com. You can get either a PDF or Kindle version. Your choice.

Why do intelligent people believe crazy things? In all fairness, it must be pointed out that “crazy” is often in the eye of the beholder. Something that makes absolutely no sense to one person sounds like genius to another. We see this in every election cycle, for example. One candidate seems like the savior of the republic to one voter, but looks like the anti-christ to the next. Some people love broccoli, others think it is something only the anti-christ would eat.

Religion is power. To control the minds, lives, allegiance, and--presumably--the destiny of a millions of people must be a heady concept indeed. But religion's founders accomplished this amazing feat and did so in brilliant fashion, by using one of humankind's most basic needs to create a product to fulfill that same need. The human race has always had three deep, innermost desires: to know, to express, and to improve. The "desire to know" created philosophy, the "desire to express" created art, and the "desire to improve" has resulted in an endless progression of increasingly complex developments intended to change life for the better.

Congress has graciously decided to allow us to keep approximately eighty more dollars of our own money each month. Thank you, sires, thank you! The decision, of course, came after several eons of bickering between Republicans and Democrats over various proposals. What we ended up getting was a two-month extension of tax relief. Which means that we will be back in this same position in, say, two months!

Although I watched Cigars: The Heart & Soul of Cuba with the intention of reviewing, I would have felt compelled to do so anyway. The film is a study of Cuban cigars, the creation process, and why they are the best cigars in the world. The film features James Suckling, an internationally acclaimed wine critic and journalist, and former European editor of Cigar Aficionado magazine. His passion for cigars shows through in his new movie, Cigars: The Heart & Soul of Cuba. Acclaimed director James Orr wrote and directed the film. Check out the official trailer below.

I am pleased to announce the release of a new essay, "Mere Lewis - A Critique of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity." In this essay I take a good look at the first half of the book, which is the part that attempts to prove Christianity on logical grounds. I address Lewis's various points, including his insistence that the world is operated under the guidance of a universal moral law set up by God.

FREE essay! A Critique of C. S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity"