Articles written by Neranya

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About me - Neranya

I retired from the military in 2005 after nearly 23 years of service. I teach college-level math and science. I'm also a published fiction writer. For fun, I ski and ride my mountain bike.

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Politics, News & Issues > US Immigration The debate on how to solve the problem of undocumented immigrants in the US: 2 of 31
If you were a poverty-stricken Mexican, would a fence stop you from getting to the United States?Imagine your children crying from hunger. Imagine your wife picking though a dump for cast-off bits of clothing. Your family doesn't have a flush toilet and a few of the young girls down the street have become prostitutes. Your ol... More..
Entertainment > Celebrity Gossip & News Jail time for Paris: Will Hilton learn her lesson?: 8 of 86
This is a young woman who was interviewed in the national press while in jail and indicated that she felt like she was in a cage. Clearly, this is not a very bright person and unintelligent people like this are likely to repeat their past mistakes.The ability of dullards to learn lessons is even more unlikely when the lesson ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics in the Middle & Near East Will the USA attack Iran?: 7 of 53
Despite the many failures of the USA in the war in Iraq, there are two military successes that need to be considered.(1) If the United States military engages Iran, it is very likely that there would be a regime change. The Iranian leadership understands this and they will never push a confrontation to the point of military a... More..
Education > Education (Other) Why schools teach the theory of evolution: 9 of 40
Should evolution or creationism be taught in school? This is not the question to ask. A better question is: In which class should evolution be taught and in which class should creationism be taught?To decide that, it's most helpful to take a look at the processes by which evolution and creationism were developed.In the 1830s,... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Terrorism Why it is important to remember the 9/11 terrorism attacks: 30 of 96
Too many people have a distorted view of what happened on 9/11. They remember the shock of seeing commercial aircraft crashing into buildings on live TV. They remember the sense of failure and despair when the towers fell.However, it is equally important to remember everything about that day.The terrorists found and exploited... More..
Entertainment > Celebrity Commentary Alec Baldwin: Is he right or wrong in his parent role: 10 of 29
It's incredible that anyone would defend such abnormal behavior from a parent directed at a young child. But let's think about this...why does he act like that? And why would someone release the recording?He's a celebrity and, as such, believes that he deserves special treatment from everybody. And most of the time, he's righ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > War in Iraq Voting on troop reductions in Iraq: 2 of 5
"Withdrawal", "troop reductions", "cut and run", and "retreat"...all of these mean the same thing: defeat.And defeat is an emotionally-charged word for Americans. We do not like to lose. We are still trying to understand what happened in Vietnam and it's hard to believe that it might happen again.But staying in this war becau... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Elections (Other) Why you should vote in the next election and why it's worth it: 38 of 82
The only time that your vote matters occurs when the candidate that you vote for wins by one vote or ties the other candidate.It's interesting that ties and one vote margins happen predominantly at the local level. Sadly, the local elections are the elections for which we typically don't have much information.The news outlets... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics in the Middle & Near East Assessing US support of Israel: 20 of 43
Our support for Israel is about the fundamental conflict between Muslim and Judeo-Christian countries that dates back for centuries. This is the 10th Crusade because it is really about the land that is holy to so many people.At the heart of it all is the city of Jerusalem (just as it was for the earlier Crusades). Simply put,... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Military (Other) Blue Angels: The real cost: 1 of 2
The recent fatal crash of a Blue Angel aircraft is another tragedy in a long line of air show tragedies. And, yet, it seems that no one ever takes a hard look at what is happening at these events.What is the official reason that the military participates in air shows? They are thought to encourage recruitment. However, there ... More..