OUDaily.com | John Best

December 10, 2010 | 1 comment

For all of us, today is the last day of classes. For some, this is the last day until spring semester. Others, like myself, are experiencing our last class of our college career on this beautiful day. READ MORE

COLUMN: Let’s examine Mother Nature to solve the world’s problems

November 22, 2010 | 1 comment

Anything you can do, nature can do better. Nature did it first. Of course such a claim appears to give nature a bit too much credit. After all, animals have been around for about 600 million years, and that’s not even counting older forms of life. Most of my readers have only been around 20 or so years, giving nature a bit of an advantage. That aside, nature does it better, faster and first. READ MORE

COLUMN: Nobel Peace Prize used as politics

November 5, 2010 | 2 comments

Over time, the Nobel Peace Prize has become more a tool for political criticism than an actual acknowledgment of respectable work. The Nobel Peace Prize was originally intended to be given to an individual who “... shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” READ MORE

COLUMN: Senate bill could censor the Internet

October 8, 2010 | 1 comment

An informed and actively involved public is the essential cornerstone for a well-functioning democracy. If society lacks a populace ready to resist tyranny and oppression, then the protective forces of democracy crumble. READ MORE

COLUMN: Untold histories shed light today

September 24, 2010 | 0 comments

“Take it with a grain of salt” — we’ve all heard the phrase before. The conservatives take MSNBC with a tub of Morton while liberals take Fox News with a wheel barrel of it. That is all fine and good. We should be suspicious of news networks and the history they shape. READ MORE

COLUMN: High murder rates in Venezuela reveal culture obsessed with images

August 25, 2010 | 0 comments

I came across an article in Monday’s edition of the New York Times that especially sparked my interest. The title of the article was “Venezuela, More Deadly than Iraq, Wonders Why.” It turns out that in Venezuela, a country with a population comparable to Iraq, almost four times as many civilians are killed each year in murders or other violent deaths than in Iraq. READ MORE

COLUMN: Jesus was an anarchist

April 9, 2010 | 22 comments

Jesus was not a capitalist, he was definitely an anarchist. READ MORE

COLUMN: Financial system will crash again unless we get rid of derivatives, proprietary trading

April 8, 2010 | 6 comments

Sure, the financial crisis seems quite abstract. READ MORE

COLUMN: Staff poetry

April 1, 2010 | 1 comment

democracy go READ MORE

COLUMN: Finding your center in a bread-based culture is not as easy as it may seem

March 24, 2010 | 4 comments

Can Daoism live in our bread-based culture? READ MORE

COLUMN: Let’s hear it for folk music

March 11, 2010 | 4 comments

Let’s hear it for the tradition of folk music. READ MORE

COLUMN: Disasters are not accidents, but acts of the Almighty

March 1, 2010 | 9 comments

With all of the recent news about earthquakes causing destruction and devastation around the world, it’s easy to forget about the natural disasters happening in our own backyard, our own state. READ MORE

Point-Counterpoint: Ethnic cleansing by another name

February 26, 2010 | 5 comments

There is no “ideal human” who we must all live up to. Some would say President Barack Obama. READ MORE

COLUMN: We need more answers to the health care debate

February 18, 2010 | 0 comments

I will be the first to say: I don’t have all the answers. I cannot solve all the problems of health care for the United States. READ MORE

COLUMN: The fruits of your labors

February 9, 2010 | 4 comments

Congratulations humanity, you have done it. You’ve accomplished the impossible. READ MORE

COLUMN: From disaster to devastation - asking the right questions

January 27, 2010 | 2 comments

What the hell happened in Haiti; and more importantly, why? The answer is simply a major earthquake struck quite near the Haitian capital, killing tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Haitian citizens. READ MORE

Articles by John Best