ARCHIVES
04/17/2008 - A "Universal" Solution to Nuke's Big Problem
Greg's Note: After a month spent ruminating on both the kudos and criticism from the first two parts of his nuclear energy series, Jim's back with his third and final installment. Could the solution to nuclear waste really be as simple as he's proposing? As usual, our Freedoms Editor adds a perspective to a debate that few are discussing — or perhaps could even imagine. 03/13/2008 - Reality Check for the Atom Smashers
Greg’s Note: In light of the feedback from all points on the spectrum we got in response to Part One of this series, Jim decided not to make you wait too long for the second installment. Some criticized his first essay for being mostly rhetorical combat against the anti-nuclear agenda — but this one more than compensates with scads of facts. And as always when he’s writing them, they’re eye opening and persuasive. 03/10/2008 - Biz Brother’s Atomic Qualms
Greg’s Note: On January 2, we published an excerpt from Freedom From Mid-East Oil, a book on energy alternatives published by an organization called the World Business Academy. The particular excerpt they provided to us laid a fairly severe smackdown on nuclear power. A surprising number of Whiskey & Gunpowder readers took issue with the piece — and challenged us to give equal time to the other side of the argument. Today, our Freedoms Editor takes up that challenge with the first of a multi-part series. 02/19/2008 - Smoke and Mirrors
Greg’s Note: At the beginning of this month, Maryland went completely smoke-free. While some residents find this to be a huge victory, others are complaining that their rights are being infringed. Freedom Editor, Jim Amrhein gives his unfiltered, yet surprisingly smooth opinion on this debate. Has the state decided to mandate health, or have some of our fundamental rights been put out? 02/01/2008 - Chapter 1 in the New Book of Genesis?
Greg’s Note: Jim Amrhein is worried. As our resident freedoms editor, if Jim weren’t worried, he’d probably be out of a job. The subject of stem cells and other embryonic testing has been put on the back burner for this election cycle, but that does not mean the issue has lost its hot button status. Jim is concerned about what kind of slippery slope we may be headed down. Is his vision for the future realistic, or has he just been watching too many movies? You decide. 01/16/2008 - The Cleanest Solution to America's Dirtiest Little Secret
Greg’s Note: Here’s the much-anticipated conclusion to Jim’s series on the de-evolution (his word, not mine) of America’s petroleum policy. As is often the case with our fiery Freedoms Editor, this one’s not for the faint of heart — especially if you’re among the very vocal minority who wrote in with criticisms, insults, or invitations for him to take a dive in a tar-pit. You’re in his crosshairs now. Not an enviable place, as any Cape Buffalo knows. 01/11/2008 - The Carbon Kool-Aid and the Catch-22
Greg’s Note: Here’s the next installment (surprise — it’s not quite the conclusion) of Jim’s latest series on the “greening” of America’s energy policy. Are we doing what’s right by ourselves and Mother Earth by curbing our thirst for fossil fuels — or are we hastening its destruction with our declining consumption? Remember, these are Jim’s questions, not mine. I’m just his editor. 12/28/2007 - That's Zen-tertainment
Greg’s Note: Don’t worry, Jim’s rip-roaring final installment of his Carbo-geddon series on America’s climate change policy is coming shortly. But first, he offers up his thoughts on one of the nation’s best-reviewed movies, Charlie Wilson’s War. Political animal that he is, Jim was one of the first in line for an opening-day matinee showing of the film. And as usual, his take on things is all his own. 12/14/2007 - The Four Inconvenient Truths of the Global Warming "Debate"
Greg’s Note: As has happened before with Jim’s essays, feedback has changed their course a bit. This time, it spurred him to shoehorn this response/clarification edition into his latest series on U.S. energy policies. But don’t worry, you’ll get all the dirt he has promised on what’s driving (no pun intended) America’s energy plan in the final installment, due to run sometime before this month’s end. 11/30/2007 - Is America "Oiling" the Skids of Environmental Disaster?
Greg’s Note: Hope you’re sitting down, because Jim’s back with an updated and high-octane redux of his unconventional, counterintuitive, yet difficult-to-refute analysis of the coming “petrocalypse.” In the kick-off installment of this series, he reminds us of why the solution to world environmental pollution may in fact be American consumption. 11/09/2007 - Fund-power, Reason and Rot
Greg’s Note: Jim’s back, with some thoughts on libertarian/Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. He wonders: Is America really ready for a true small-government president? And despite what they say in election years, is less government, more personal freedom and responsibility, and the free market really still the GOP’s core philosophy? 10/22/2007 - Lead, Luck and the Circle of Life
Greg's Note: Like with Parts 1 and 2 of this series, I expected feedback on the third installment — Jim's high-recoil blast back at his critics — to be sizeable, polarized and pretty evenly divided. But one can't underestimate our Freedoms Editor's powers of persuasion. At latest count, only nine of the 300 or so letters we got in response to that double-barreled dispatch were negative. The rest of you said: "Give us more of the bush, bullets, and blood!" So, by popular demand, I give you the much-anticipated conclusion to Jim's Africa Diaries series. 10/12/2007 - Killer Reasoning of the Most Endangered Species
Greg’s Note: Jim’s back with a double-barreled olive branch for his detractors and death-wishers (yes, there were several). But fair warning, critics: Read no further if you’re not ready to be pinioned by reason into a whole new way of looking at hunting, or if you’re afraid to be in the cross-hairs of some “killer” criticism yourself. And as always, don’t shoot the messenger. 09/28/2007 - Death from the Dark Continent
Greg’s Note: Whiskey’s own Great White Hunter is back with the second installment of his true-life adventures of cape buffalo hunting — and amateur anthropology — in increasingly unstable Zimbabwe. Get ready for nail-biting danger, bone-jarring recoil, and fresh blood in the air. 09/19/2007 - Tales from the Bush-Veldt
Greg’s Note: Here’s Whiskey & Gunpowder’s “have gun, will travel” Freedoms Editor, with hair-raising accounts of his recent dangerous game safari in Zimbabwe. Hunter or not, I’m betting you’ll enjoy these photos and true stories of life, the stalk, and impending death from the long dry grass and thorny acacia trees of the African plains. 08/28/2007 - Saturday Night's Alright for Collidin'
Greg’s Note: Early this summer Jim and I trucked on down to Southern Maryland to catch a demolition derby. I have only just healed from the bruises incurred when Jim repeatedly smacked me for failing to use family friendly language… In any case, that demo derby got Jim thinking about SUVs, trucks and his old favorite point that Americans ought not worry about how much fuel they burn. 08/13/2007 - How The Simpsons Can Save America
Greg’s Note: Jim Amrhein presents a discussion on the recently released Simpsons movie. He argues that the 18-season run of the series — culminating in the recent movie — marks the most effective and honest commentary on the government in American culture. 07/31/2007 - Fines of Our Times...
Greg’s Note: Where should Jim move? He wants to stay in America, it seems – but he might look to move out of Maryland some time in the near future. I know where I’d move in the U.S. — New Mexico — but he asks you where he ought to live to feel the “true spirit of America.” For years, he’s had Virginia at the top of his list…but a recently created and excessive tax has banned him from living there. 07/16/2007 - How the "Balance Sheet" Mentality is Changing American Freedom
Greg’s Note: Here’s our Freedoms Editor, sounding off about the wrong-headed thinking that drives today’s personal liberties debate. This essay is an adaptation of a speech he delivered just two weeks ago at FreedomFest 2007, in sweltering — but still deliciously libertine — Las Vegas, Nevada. 06/27/2007 - The Politics of "Passing" Legislation...
Greg’s Note: Jim’s back with a bit about Dr. Death. You may have noticed that Dr. Jack Kevorkian has recently been released from prison. It passed as a minor blip on the media radar, but it’s an important development nonetheless. Jim analyzes the unspoken possibilities that surround doctor-assisted suicide. He comes up with some alarming scenarios and ends with a novel conclusion. 06/05/2007 - The Unfair Witch Project
Greg’s Note: Here’s the second installment of Jim’s coverage on the potential dangers of teachers psychoanalyzing their students’ writing. He provides a strange example where a high school student got arrested after turning in an edgy writing assignment. 05/30/2007 - Attack of the Homicidal Stepford Students
Greg’s Note: Here’s Jim with a follow up (of sorts) on his piece about the Virginia Tech incident. He slams the media again and then turns to the press’ focus on the shooter’s writing. Should his teachers have done more after reading his violent stories and plays? Jim addresses this question below. 05/15/2007 - A Glimpse Behind the Mass Media's Curtain of Deceit...
Greg's Note: Jim's back. And he's got a fistful of scorn for the major television news industry, NBC in particular. He thinks they mishandled the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy. 04/23/2007 - A Nation Paralyzed -- and Soon Polarized
Greg's Note: Here's Jim Amrhein with analysis on last Monday's tragic mass murder at Virginia Tech. It's the second part of his series on the Second Amendment. 04/06/2007 - (Trigger) Happy Days are Here Again...
Greg's Note: Jim Amrhein returns to analyze some recent developments in the realm of the Second Amendment. It seems that gun rights might have enjoyed a decent victory in D.C. recently. 03/27/2007 - Neutering the Great American Thriller -- The True Hollywood Story
Greg's Note: Here's a review of the newly released film "Shooter" from...you guessed it — Jim Amrhein. The book the movie sprung from happens to be one of Jim's faves — and he's less than happy with the big screen translation. Read on to find out what he didn't like about the movie. 03/22/2007 - Of Carnivores and Carbon Whores...
Greg's Note: Jim Amrhein returns today with an ironic analysis of PETA and greenhouse gases. The connection might not be what you expect... 03/15/2007 - Conservation Crushed in a Carbon Footprint...
Greg's Note: Jim Amrhein returns today with a side effect of the great ethanol boondoggle that you might not have heard about. Please enjoy... 02/27/2007 - You, Robot
Greg’s Note: Do you feel comfortable knowing that cameras often record your actions without your knowledge? It bothers the living heck out of me — even though I rarely have something to hide. Jim Amrhein takes up these issues today — and provides some morbid logical progression to the potential results of such widespread and haphazard surveillance. 02/14/2007 - Eye, Robot
Greg's Note: I hate the fear-begotten surveillance society. I loathe the government's autocratic snooping a little more than the complacency of those snooped upon. Jim Amrhein returns today to analyze our life under the camera. Who's watching us, though? You might be surprised to find out. 01/30/2007 - State of the Statist Union
Greg's Note: Did you watch the most recent State of the Union address? Well, Jim did, and he offers you his take on the affair. 01/19/2007 - A Sinister Snapshot Into the Mirror...
Greg’s Note: Jim’s back with a sobering critique on today’s youth and the parenting style that begets it. His analysis hits hard for me as I’m a new Baltimorean and this once great city smolders into a rotting husk of violence and decay. 12/22/2006 - Dreaming of a Right Christmas...
Greg’s Note: Jim’s back, with a cheery Christmas missive. Should Christmas be a national American holiday? Read on to see what Jim thinks. 12/15/2006 - States of a Nation
Greg's Note: Jim returns with another piece aflame. He offers his answer to Byron's last missive on the Iraq War. Please enjoy - I'll let you read it for yourself. 11/17/2006 - The Wasps in the Toolshed
Greg's Note: A big "thank-you" goes to those of you that wrote me asking for Jim's follow-up to his piece on the Iraq War. We go out on a limb here at Whiskey, blasting out stiff shots of opinion, so we're never sure how things will turn out. We plod onward, though, and I thank you for your continued interest. 10/27/2006 - Iraq and a Hard Place
Greg's Note: Here's Jim, trying to answer this question, "Why did we go to war in Iraq?" 09/27/2006 - A Blood Debt Yet To Be Paid
Greg’s Note: Jim is back with his third installment of his series about his redneck experiences. This time, he talks about how much America owes to these hard-working, self-sacrificing people. 09/15/2006 - A Tale of Two Citizens
Greg's Note: Jim returns with the second part of his personal pastiche of his recent experience with "rednecks." He quickly answers the predominant reader question and then goes on to tackle the redneck (or white trash ) stereotype. Then, he makes postulates that rednecks power the economy more than the white collared folk - and rallies some anecdotal facts to bolster his case. 08/22/2006 - Lessons I Learned in West Virginia
Greg's Note: Jim's back with an anecdote from West Virginia. He then spins his experience into a critique of the common judgments made on "rednecks." This is classic Jim - incendiary and opinionated. 07/18/2006 - Not Utopia, But a World That's Better By Degrees
Greg's Note: Here's Jim's follow-up to his piece on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions called "the Least Convenient Truth." As you might expect, this one's a bit firey... 06/20/2006 - The Green Plan: Annihilation by Radiation -- One Kind or Another
Greg's Note: Today, Jim returns with an ode to kittens. Just joking -- fitting his style, he's got a firey piece brewed up for you. Today, he tackles global warming. But he doesn't discuss whether this theory rings true. Rather, he details the implications of one of the assumed causes of climate change -- the use of fossil fuels. Should Americans cut down their consumption of oil? And what would happen if they did? Jim's answers to theses questions will surprise you...and he ends your essay with a chilling potential future timeline if Americans drastically cut down on their oil consumption. 05/31/2006 - Freedom Forced to Buckle, Part II
Greg's Note: Here's the second, final part to Jim's series on seat belt laws. Enjoy -- and, as always, please send your responses to your managing editor here: greg@whiskeyandgunpowder.com 05/30/2006 - Freedom Forced to Buckle, Part I
Greg's Note: After Jim's shot that unraveled the "logic" behind mandatory motorcycle helmet laws, more than a few readers wrote me asking him to cast a similarly critical look at seatbelt laws. Here you go -- you ask, Jim listens... 05/09/2006 - Revenge of the Killer Mutant Nanny State
Greg's Note: Jim returns with a follow-up to his Harley missive entitled "Brotherhood of Thunder." Today, Jim takes on motorcycle helmet laws - Do helmets save lives or make riding safer? Once again, Jim's got some controversial answers to an oft-unasked question. You might be surprised by what he comes up with...please send your comments to your thickskulled managing editor here: greg@whiskeyandgunpowder.com 04/17/2006 - The Brotherhood of Thunder
Greg's Note: Here's a heartfelt shot from Jim. Just read it and send me any comments you may have here: greg@whiskeyandgunpowder.com 04/04/2006 - Buying the Pharma, Part II
Greg's Note: I received a bucket and a half o' reader mail regarding Jim Amrhein's last Whiskey shot on Big Pharma. So I sent 'em all on to Jim and here's what he had to say. 03/21/2006 - Are We Headin' for Pharmageddon?
Greg's Note: Today Jim launches some missiles at the FDA. He wonders how the agency can do what it's supposed to do -- protect patients from harmful drugs -- while it derives most of its funding directly from the drug companies it regulates. Hmmm...seems like a conflict might arise from such a situation. Speaking of regulatory drug approval, this essay reminds of the horrific pain and physical deformities suffered by 6 young British men who volunteered to act as "human guinea pigs" in a recent drug trial. Upon receiving injections of the drug, the men vomited, convulsed, experienced organ failure and massive swelling of their heads and limbs. Today, 2 of the young men remain in a coma. A horrible situation. Please send your responses to Jim's essay here: greg@whiskeyandgunpowder.com 02/16/2006 - Mourning the Soul of the American Brand
Greg's Note: Here's a heartfelt eulogy from Jim. His encomium rings in dual tones: one bemoans the impending loss of an American icon and the other peals for the loss of American creation. We get a succinct history of the ole U.S. of A as seen through a Winchester's sights. Loading Byron's magazine, Jim uses history to illustrate his point. Please read on and send your opinions to your bluegrassed managing editor here: greg@whiskeyandgunpowder.com 01/31/2006 - Mending De-Fences, Part II
Greg's Note: Here's Jim's second - and final - missive on the fence potentially cauterizing America's Mexican border. As you would expect, he again unloads both chambers, leaving fresh powder burns on the backside of our index fingers. Below, he surmises that a surprising amount of Mexican GDP originates from illegal immigrants and criminal border activities. Then he illuminates eye-opening reasons why Los Presidentes GW Bush and Fox refuse to stop the dense influx of illegals pouring through America's Southern Border. Finally, he redefines the word "community" - and his twist seems better described ad "co-unity." Jim's solution rings revolutionary and unique, so please send your barefoot managing editor any opinions right here: greg@whiskeyandgunpowder.com 01/09/2006 - Mending De-Fences, Part I
Greg's Note: Here's another heaping mouthful of wellthunk vitriol from Jim. Today he tackles the "Mexi-fence" -- the prospect of erecting a physical barrier between Mexico and America. He talks about illegal immigrants' effect on the American economy, how illegals benefit Mexico, and then he starts his discussion of "National soul" which he will finish in the second part of this essay. 12/22/2005 - Impending American Petrocalypse
Greg's Note: Here's Jim on oil, and our precarious supply position. Specifically he talks about how supply narrowly outstrips demand - and how demand should shoot past supply early next year. He details 4 large threats to oil supply, dubbing these threats "chokepoints." 12/02/2005 - Tomorrow's "Air" Traffic Control
Greg's Note: Here's Jim, dishing out another heaping plate of scorn to the privacy-impinging surveillants that surround us at all times. Below he details how certain cellular phones - through the seemingly helpful goal of tracking collective traffic patterns - could easily track an individual's movement. 11/10/2005 - Legends of the Fall
Greg's Note: Here Jim shoots a volley right to the Gunpowder party of our sweet namesake. Not that he dislikes Whiskey…but below, as is his wont, he uncovers at least two seeming ironies implicit in the animal rights crowd. 10/24/2005 - One Nation, Under Dogma, Part II
Greg's Note: Here's Jim's shot back to the detractors and supporters of his last Whiskey column called "Divided by the Divine…Again."
10/05/2005 - Divided by the Divine...Again
Greg's Note: Jim discusses the separation of church and state, citing the San Francisco ruling last month that the recitation in public schools of the Pledge of Allegiance as currently written is unconstitutional, because it contains an endorsement of religion in violation of the constitutional principle of "separation of church and state." 09/19/2005 - Greed and Obfuscation in America's Atlantis
Greg's Note: Jim writes about New Orleans, which has for years been nicknamed "the city that care forgot," owing to its mix of both opulent glamour and extreme decadence. How morbidly appropriate a moniker now, given the systemic failure at all levels to deal with Katrina's wrath. The most obvious question, of course, is this: Why wasn't New Orleans better prepared for the disaster everyone knew was coming someday? 09/07/2005 - Gimme Back My Bullets, Part II
Greg's Note: Here's the second part of Jim's volley on our right to bear arms. Analyzing a tragic, despicable crime, he points out that the media and left wing pointedly misconstrued the situation. Jim goes on to give a persuasive -- and perhaps to some, controversial -- discussion of what he thinks is our most important (and also most threatened) right... 07/27/05 - Gun Control: Showdown at the PC Corral
Greg's Note: Today Jim tackles gun control. Analyzing a tragic, despicable crime, he points out that the media and left wing pointedly misconstrued the situation. Jim goes on to give a persuasive -- and perhaps to some, controversial -- discussion of what he thinks is our most important (and also most threatened) right... 06/28/2005 - The New American Feudalism
Greg's Note: Jim writes about a Supreme Court ruling that states have the right under the "eminent domain" provision of the law to force the sale of privately owned property directly to private-enterprise interests in the name of a region's economic prosperity. What this means is that you've just lost all your rights to whatever real estate you've worked and struggled so hard to secure for yourself and your posterity. 06/15/2005 - There Ought (Not To Be a Law)
Greg's Note: Jim discusses the plethora of federal legislation in existence, a great deal of which is outdated, irrelevant, and unknown. He poses the question: what is the point of having so many laws if most of us don't even know what they are? 05/31/2005 - Illegal Immigration: This Land is Your Land - Even If It Isn't...
Greg's Note: Jim looks at the problems in society and the economy that are caused by illegal immigration. He then explains the origin of the Minuteman Project, and what happened in Arizona. 05/10/2005 - National ID Cards: Driving Toward the United State of America
Greg's Note: Jim discusses the possibility of a National ID Card, and what its implications would be. Imagine if one card could give the others access to the lives, travels, readings, purchases, and medical histories of U.S. citizens. 04/26/2005 - Surveillance: Keeping "Track" of Trust
Greg's Note: In a small town in CA, children in grade school are required to wear radio-trackable ID badges while on school grounds. Jim explores the idea of GPS systems monitoring everyday people. 03/28/2005 - Animal Rights: "Righting" A Wrong
Greg's Note: In this article, Jim makes a bold statement: Animals have no rights. Humans have rights because we guarantee them to each other, but no animals do any such thing. 03/10/2005 - U.S. Oil Consumption: Pollution Absolution
Greg's Note: Jim explains why oil consumption is actually good for the environment, and clears up some misguided assertions about U.S. oil consumption. 02/08/2005 - Surveillance: GPS=Governmental Power Swipe?
Greg's Note: Jim discusses the government's use and abuse of GPS, or Global Positioning System, and the connection between terrorism and GPS. He explains that GPS system opens the door to what may soon amount to continuous surveillance of everyone. | 
