Author Archives: dcpetterson

About dcpetterson

D. C. Petterson is a novelist and a software consultant in Minnesota who has been writing science fiction since the age of six. He lives with his wife, a seriously affectionate pit bull, a cat, and a bearded dragon, and insists that grandchildren are the reward for having survived teenagers. When not writing stories or software, he plays guitar, engages in political debate, and reads a lot of history and physics texts for fun.

Free Forum Friday April 22 Edition

Posted on April 22, 2011 by dcpetterson

Another lively week. Senator John Ensign resigned today (see our Senate Seat Series article on the NV Race). The DOW hit another post-crash high this week. It was the anniversary of Columbine, Waco, Oklahoma City, and Deepwater Horizon. Alabama’s Judge Moore … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Forum Friday | 95 Comments

Something in the Air

Posted on April 21, 2011 by dcpetterson

There may be something strange in the spring air. This is the week for disasters. On April 19, 1993, seventy-six people died after a fifty-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. One hundred sixty-eight people died in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Intimidation Nation

Posted on April 9, 2011 by dcpetterson

What is it about Tea Party Republicans? These are the same people who turned town hall meetings into near-riots throughout 2009. They are the ones who were big on carrying guns to political rallies. They fantasized about armed rebellion. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 67 Comments

Free Forum Friday April 1st Edition

Posted on April 1, 2011 by dcpetterson

It’s been an unusual week. Some of the highlights are as follows: As far as we can tell, there is no truth to the notion that Mike Huckabee is going to partner with Rush Limbaugh on “Dancing with the Stars.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Free Forum Friday | 178 Comments

In This Corner…Tim Pawlenty

Posted on March 23, 2011 by dcpetterson

2012 Contender Series: Tim Pawlenty (Ed. note: Pawlenty officially withdrew from the Republican Presidential race on Sunday, August 14th after a poor showing in the Iowa Straw Poll) This issue of the Contender series will be a little different from … Continue reading →

Posted in Contender Series | Tagged , | 254 Comments

In This Corner…Michele Bachmann

Posted on February 11, 2011 by dcpetterson

2012 Contender Series: Michele Bachmann (Updated January 4th: Ms. Bachmann officially withdrew from the residential race after a poor showing in the Iowa Caucus. It is expected that she will run for re-election in Minnesota once the redistricting is settled) … Continue reading →

Posted in Contender Series | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Defending the Public Scapegoat

Posted on February 1, 2011 by dcpetterson

America’s conservatives have been going on lately about public workers. We need to cut the government workforce. We need to reduce their incomes. We need to gut their too-generous benefits packages. All of this as part of the necessary austerity … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 118 Comments

Care Wars: The Empire Strikes Back!

Posted on January 18, 2011 by dcpetterson

…in which Boehner Fett digs himself a hole. Have you ever been to a four-hour movie that went on about three hours too long? And then marveled at the audacity and stupidity of the studio for making a sequel? Well, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 128 Comments

Blood Sport

Posted on January 15, 2011 by dcpetterson

For a moment, let’s pretend that Saturday, January 8, 2011, did not happen. For a moment, pretend no one got shot in Tucson, Arizona. Pretend there never was a flap about the language of our political discourse, and whether that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 54 Comments

2010: The Trend is Upward

Posted on January 3, 2011 by dcpetterson

Throughout 2008 and 2009, many conservative pundits spent some effort in trying to convince us that the world was in a “cooling trend.” 2008 and 2009, while still among the warmest years on record, were a bit cooler than a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 84 Comments