Last month the local Girl Scout troop leaders needed a location to divide up their cookie shipment, and they did that at the township. It went well. While talking with the organizer she asked me how long I’ve been in office, I told her about 15 months. Next she asked…

I don’t fall into a clear category in politics. Nor do I in religion. This tends to make people uncomfortable because they can’t classify me. To know what I think you have to ask me, or listen to me, or read what I have written. In my pursuit of meaning…

As societies break down you see a breakdown at all levels. You can see it on display in our government organizations in villages, townships, cities, counties, states, and countries. You can see it in private clubs, friend groups, and family units. And you can see it in individuals. Each of…

Life is a struggle. A struggle wherein we strive to capture value and meaning in what we create, in what we experience, and the perspective that we take on the challenges that we face. Politics is a part of life, and also a struggle. Dalton Township has been faced with…

It has been a long and tumultuous history to discover what is necessary for the structure of good governance: separation of powers, federalism, checks and balances, due process, elections, enumerated rights, trial by jury, etc. These are immensely important principles that civilization is built upon. But all of the best…

Life and liberty are precious and precarious things. Easy to lose their balance and topple, this way or that. We expect government to protect these things, life and liberty, but quite often it does the opposite. And that’s allowed, because taking action is inconvenient. If these injustices continue to grow…

I have spent many hours over the last couple of decades contemplating Lord Acton’s observation in a letter to a bishop that, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I have read, studied, and observed the idea. …

Everyone wants to make progress. To actually do that there are important questions to ask, the two most important being “Progress toward what?” and “How?” …

I have received suggestions from both residents in Dalton Township, and from state level organizations, tending toward having ordinances that are vague and subjective. I can understand the tendency in that direction. Working out laws that will be able to apply across a wide range of situations is difficult. Not…