I am self-made, self-sufficient, and self-supporting, along with being self-reliant, self-confident and self-motivated. I am also self-righteous, self-serving, self-critical, self-centered, and perhaps just a wee bit self-absorbed. I reek of responsibility and good reputation. I hold dear my anxiety, all the while remaining tethered to my... Continue
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One of the biggest headliners in the liberal camp, David Remnick (editor of the “New Yorker” magazine), took top prize for the biggest media face-plant when he withdrew his invitation to Steve Bannon (former top policy aide to president Trump and former editor of Breitbart.com)... Continue
We all want ways to thrive. Whether we’re drawing, cooking, making wine, singing, planting sunflowers or speaking to a crowd, art is always enlivening. Art can be re-arranging your kitchen or the great art of conversation. It can be in anything we do. It requires... Continue
With Labor Day behind us, the curtain is rising on another season of the award-winning drama series, “City Council Elections.” Candidates and Residents alike may want to take note that City Council’s record of accomplishment periodically attracts the attention of leading academics and Nobel Laureates.... Continue
There are those who believe there are two types of people, wolves and sheep. According to this view, we are divided into two camps: predators and prey. In the animal world, this commonly is true, populations of prey vastly outnumbering predators. These large populations support... Continue
Justice relies upon blame, and blame relies upon declaring effective cause. Effective cause is one of four types of causation, according to Plato, the others being material cause, formal cause and total cause. When to comes to matters of human affairs, effective cause is the... Continue
The closure of the Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) has been slowly happening over the last many years. The process has always been challenging, as the location has been a constant presence in the lives of patients, parents, workers, and Sonoma Valley residents. It is only... Continue
Foundations that award grants to nonprofits for the purpose of upgrading their technology have started asking organizations to also submit a technology plan. Since very few nonprofits in Sonoma Valley have an actual technology plan, a best practice in nonprofit management, the time might be... Continue
The soaring melody of a mockingbird's song, the terrible cries of a small child being separated from parents seeking asylum; is it possible to reconcile experiences of such beauty and horror? Openness to and awareness of the world that surrounds us simultaneously exhilarates and wounds;... Continue
It’s almost September and three-quarters of the year will soon be gone. As with any responsibly run enterprise, it’s not too early to ask: How are we doing on last year’s New Year’s Resolutions? Any progress since all that Happy Holidays Hope-y Change-y stuff? Just... Continue