Christopher J. Mallin, the Old Country Lawyer has been observing, and occasionally participating in, the governmental process of the United States since serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1972. The OCL has been participating in the governmental process of the State of Ohio since providing legal counsel during the recount of the 1974 governor's election, when Governor John Gilligan was defeated for re-election by former Governor James Rhodes, by two votes per precinct over the fourteen thousand precincts statewide.The OCL was personally acquainted with some of the soldiers and one Marine whose names are honored on the Vietnam War Memorial. It seems to the OCL that some folks his own age, even some who have attained high governmental office, have forgotten the lessons of the history of our younger days, and perhaps never learned the lessons of economics and never even heard of planetary ecology. So the OCL is offering his thoughts on various life-and-death questions, in hope that these thoughts might come to the attention of those who decide those questions.The Old Country Lawyer writes a monthly column for The Blue Print, a newsletter published by a group of politically-active folks in Portage County, Ohio. Any readers who care to comment on these essays are invited to email me, Chris Mallin, at PortaDem@aol.com. Previous OCL columns are available within this website.