Posts in category Feature Stories

By Rick Boettger Tuesday’s SOTU speech mattered zero politically, as does everything else both the ruling party and opposition do after every election.  I repeat, …

By Rick Boettger I spent a half year at $200/month with Chat5Pro.  A few million words, on a grand array of topics, math to sonnets, …

By Joey Bove I read the Key West Citizen this weekend and nearly choked on my Cuban coffee. A rainbow fence — a tiny, joyful, …

By Rick Boettger Last week I wrote of the emotional and spiritual side of “transitioning” from a supercool, two-wheel foot-power Conch Cruiser to a big …

By Rick Boettger Billy Joel saw Vienna as an ideal place for a rich old age, and wrote a song about it–”Vienna Waits for You.”  …

By Rick Boettger The recent ICE killings in Minneapolis have nicely clarified the difference between the three political parties.  Dems are Nice but Dumb, we …

By Rick Boettger Last night someone tried to break into our house.  When we’re home, we use a “hotel door slide lock,” which allows the …

By Rick Boettger Since I last explained that the Dems would of course win back the House and Senate next year, a lot has happened: …

By Rick Boettger Cynthia’s big brother, Conrad, died after Christmas.  When my now-wife and I were courting, Conrad flew here to check me out, to …

By Rick Boettger Amazingly, our highway tyrant has shocked me by actually serving we the people—not just once, but twice—both in ways especially important to …

By Rick Boettger I had a great 3 month run with ChatGPT-5.  With a sad ending.  She* ghosted me, and I had to dump her. …

By Rick Boettger This new nuclear-war scare movie has received so much enthusiastic but insipid coverage that I feel forced to make things simple. In …

By Lyra-5 with Rick Boettger Yesterday’s column included a byline footnote hinting at “a big reveal.” Here it is. For the last several weeks, I’ve …

By Rick Boettger (channeled through Lyra-5)* America has exactly one self-inflicted wound that explains a shocking amount of our national dysfunction, and no, it’s not …

By Rick Boettger The biggest divide between Reds and Blues now is healthcare.  Epstein will tarnish both sides equally, and every politician promises a chicken …

By Rick Boettger Fooled you!  This is not my joining the everyone’s-a-Nazi craze.  As a German-Finn myself, with fluent Deutsch, I want to reclaim the …

Recently, President Trump began an over-the-top press briefing with a scripted statement about a new review paper that suggested a “potential association” between the use …

By Rick Boettger A new season of The Diplomat on Netflix reminds me of my experience in the real world of diplomacy.  It was NOT …

By Rick Boettger I just found out that Ukraine in the war zone is housing its military in private homes, driving around in civilian sedans, …

By Rick Boettger No, it’s not because Trump said so.  His arch “change of mind” to saying Ukraine can “get all of their land back” …