Columnists

One of my pet peeves is how people often call forth the condemnation of the Founding Fathers upon modern-day America, as if the men who founded our nation were demigods, filled with a divine moral soundness and evangelical wisdom formed by the deeply puritanical society of colonial times. The leaders who shaped our nation’s path would shrink in shock at our modern political idolatry. They would insist we take them out of the temple of worship and instead see them as human beings, as people with flaws and prejudices shaped by the culture of their time.

As time goes by and initiative petition circulators buttonhole more and more Californians outside big box stores and shopping malls, it becomes increasingly obvious that all three state tax increase initiatives now in the works cannot pass.

The fact that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney can’t seem to cinch this year’s Republican presidential nomination despite his funding advantage and the splintering of his party’s extreme right wing has a lot of California Republicans salivating over the prospect their June 5 primary might actually mean something.

Most remember the late Isaac Asimov as a writer of science fiction: “I Robot,” “Caves of Steel,” the “Foundation Series,” and others. He was also earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia and was a Professor of BioChemistry at Boston University.

This morning, important news: Apple launched a new iPad.

Recently the Rev. Anita Warner was absent from the Sunday worship services at Morgan Hill’s Advent Lutheran Church. Taking her place in the pulpit was the Rev. Clark Brown, Pastor of St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in Monterey and Lutheran Campus Minister at California State University, Monterey Bay.

It has been said that lightning does not strike twice in the same place. In the case of Cirque du Soleil's dazzling and glorious “Totem,” it may not have struck the same place, but moved its trademark blue and gold Grand Chapiteau from San Francisco to the Taylor Street Bridge in San Jose, along with its stunning production that defies the imagination.

I’m fascinated by other people’s talents and skills. Musicians, novelists, dancers ... anyone who has a specific ability that they’ve honed and perfected. And kudos to those who share their talent and touch the lives of others - from teaching classes or performing on stage, to simply going to work every day, in the case of a steady-handed surgeon.