The curse of oil
By John Silveira
Issue #82 • July/August, 2003
To many, the oil beneath the sands of the Middle East is a kind of godsend for them. My take on it is that it's illusionary wealth in...
Just how good of a bet are those lotto tickets?
By John Silveira
Issue #37 • January/February, 1996
I looked at the newspaper and tried to match up the lotto results printed there with my picks. I sighed. "Boy, I sure would've liked to have won...
Turn the poor into capitalists
By John Silveira
Issue #137 • September/October, 2012
I'm not a fan of the welfare system and I think it's been more of a failure than a success. It may serve as a 'safety net' for...
What kind of Americans sit on our juries?
By John Silveira
March 16, 2000
Our jury system is supposed to be a buffer between us--the citizens--and the government. It is there to prevent the abuse of power that governments have exercised since the dawn...
How to achieve affordable health care
By John Silveira
Issue #120 • November/December, 2009
Despite all the hubbub about health care, the United States can have affordable health care tomorrow if we want it. There have been real solutions available, solutions that...
The Runaway
By John Silveira
February 9, 2006
My kids are grown. But it didn't come about without a lot of frustration, tribulations, and laughs.
Runaways: What do you do with a six-year-old who threatens to run away?
One woman...
Stumbling over your own stupidity
By John Silveira
Issue #64 • July/August, 2000
There are several morals to be found in this story. You can find most of them yourself. But I'm only interested in one of them. The story was...
Planning the lives of generations to come
By John Silveira
March 8, 2006
I was reading the March 2006 issue of Discover Magazine and read Asteroid Watcher Worries, an interview with Clark R. Chapman, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute at...
Man vs. the machine
By John Silveira
Issue #71 • September/October, 2001
About 10 years ago, I was living in southern California and I was summoned for jury duty. I was glad to be called. I've always liked the concept...
Our energy crisis Part 2 — Nuclear energy is sensible and safe
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Our energy crisis
Part 2 of 3
Nuclear energy is sensible and safe
By John Silveira
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By John Silveira
Issue #114 • November/December, 2008
When an atomic bomb was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945, the amount of energy...
Our energy crisis Part 1 — It’s our creation, but we can fix it
By John Silveira
Issue #113 • September/October, 2008
It has been said the United States is a "carbon economy" meaning that our economy and standard of living depend on the availability of fossil fuels which include...
