Opinion

“The tragedy of the commons” is a metaphor made famous by a 1968 essay on overpopulation. It refers to the practice in many past and some current societies to maintain a tract of land in common where everyone in town could allow their animals to graze. The moral of the story, which has many variants, is usually taken to be that eventually the grass will be exhausted by too much grazing, and everyone will starve. -more-

Oy vey! The winter solstice is upon us, and the Christians are at it again. A friend has e-mailed me what he calls an “outline” for an editorial—it’s a collection of unbelievable stories about silly things being done in the name of Christ as the holidays approach. Top billing this year goes to the campaign by elements of the organized Christian (self-described) right wing to ban the use of the greeting “Happy Holidays” by the president. Huh? As much as I dislike the man, surely he does retain the right to greet his friends anyway he wants at any time of the year, with the possible exception of saying “Sieg Heil,” which might be considered in bad taste. -more-