Columnists

Immigration is a topic of heated discussion in the United States. The current presidential campaign has provoked fear, distortions, outrage and scary stories; a case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court seeks to resolve how much control states can have over non-citizens living within their borders.

Webster’s definition for understudy: an actor who learns the part of another actor so as to serve as a substitute when necessary. Here is where prolific, Pulitzer Prize nominee, author and playwright Theresa Rebeck (recently creator of TV’s “Smash”) lets the fall out of what it means to be an understudy in this wacky, witty rendition of a Broadway play within a play by (wait for it) Franz Kafka.

I vividly remember the day she adopted me, me driving home with her 5-month-old paws on the dashboard, face tilted downward and pressed against the windshield. I remember wondering if I had made the right decision: Was I ready to take on a dog? We’d had family dogs when I was young, but I was an adult now, living on my own. She would be all mine.

I was a lucky kid; I grew up in “Small Town America” during the 1950s. And although my Colorado hometown wasn’t “small” by most standards (roughly 100,000 people), it felt that way because we were encapsulated within our close-knit neighborhoods.

Q: We recently adopted a white kitty-cat from our neighbor’s back yard. She’s about 4 years old and she has two different colored eyes (her left eye is blue and the right one is green). How often do cats have different eyes? Is this rare? Do they have any problems with their vision?

The June 5 primary ballot is a simple affair. It should take just a few minutes to mark my choices on my absentee ballot. But I’m stuck on one vote: Proposition 29, which would levy a $1 per pack tax on cigarettes to fund cancer research.

OK, gotta set the scene, get a mood going; see, it’s one of those TV commercials to which we are subjected approximately every 10 minutes day and night intended for men of a certain age and condition to make us – I mean, them, not me, no sir – believe (1) that there is something, ummm, missing in our, I mean their, lives and (2) how truly miraculous it is that there is a handy pill which will, ummm, bring it all back. So … Barry White music in the background, a homey scene bursting with potential romance, a handsome guy with a slightly loopy smile, and action! – which means a soothing voiceover.

The American public mostly seems to take our freedom of religion for granted. Although this nation was founded by pilgrims from England seeking religious liberty, the colonial Puritans soon turned to persecuting other colonists who disagreed with their beliefs (going so far as to outlaw the celebration of Christmas). Over time, our government has usually attempted to remain neutral in religious affairs, though Muslims may say that increased scrutiny of their community since 9/11 has had a chilling effect on their ability to freely practice Islam.