Selected definitions from the Zealot's Dictionary

Oil: Black gold. A substance made cheaply by nature from old dinosaurs and refined into a precious substance by the new dinosaurs running the oil companies.

Baggage check: The check that you write to the airlines to send your luggage to the Bahamas while you go to Cleveland.

Ethanol: A way to turn corn into gold.

Lottery: A way for the government to tax your hopes and dreams of getting lucky, winning big money, and telling your burger-flipping boss where to go.

Podcast Review: Common Sense with Dan Carlin

"Common Sense with Dan Carlin" is a political podcast that sooner or later you will disagree with, but that is one of the things that makes it so much fun to listen to. I first learned of Common Sense though a blurb that Carlin did on his another podcast, "Dan Carlin's Hardcore History." I liked his history podcast, so I thought I would give his political podcast a try. I am glad that I did.

For those who have yet to get involved in the world of podcasts, podcasts are audio, and occasionally video, shows that are periodically released by their creators. They can range from the absolute silly, like "Ask a Ninja," to academic and instructional (many college instructors are recording their lectures). Common Sense falls in between these two poles. Podcasts can be downloaded to your computer and listened to at home, or be transferred to mobile devices, such as IPods.

Dan Carlin is an ex-newsman, who has decided to go into podcasting. His political views do not fit neatly in any particular political box. There are times that he sounds like a conservative; other times, he sounds like a liberal. He is pro-gun, but anti-war. I am not sure what label to slap on him. Then again, I am not sure what label to slap on myself politically either. Read the rest of the Podcast Review: Common Sense with Dan Carlin, click here.

Selected Definitions from the Zealot’s Dictionary

Superdelegate: An invention of the Democratic Party to soothe the hurt feelings of the non-nominated and to heal the wounds of party infighting; unfortunately, some hope to use them as leverage to bring back cigars and overthrow the results of the Democratic Party’s biggest popularity contest.

Divorce: A method of robbing the worst half to support the better half and their lawyers by dissolving a less-than-perfect marriage.

Vulcan: A stoic from another planet, frequent carriers of the disease of Nerdish Trekkus.

Same-Sex Marriage: A legal procedure that will allow homosexuals to be as miserable and cynical about love as heterosexuals; opposed to by some on religious grounds, the opponents saying that their god does not want sinners to suffer in the same manner as saints.