Setting aside the purely commercial aspects of harvest decorations and TV commercials featuring cute turkeys and cartoon characters in Puritan outfits, Thanksgiving's acknowledgment of earth's bounty and the value of kindness towards others is a welcome departure from our customary year-long celebration of acquiring more... Continue
Columnist
I am finally totally fed up with the last lame remnants of the Democratic Leadership Council corporate cheerleaders who still occupy the center of gravity in the national party. How do they remain the agenda-setters for the path of the Democratic Party? How many elections do... Continue
There are few sights more beautiful than traveling along the Highway 12 corridor during the fall when the hills and vineyards burst into flames of color and the quality of light sharpens. We are truly blessed to witness the changing of the seasons in Sonoma... Continue
Hope and sadness are strange bedfellows. I struggle with depression this time of year. The dark weather drags down my inner enthusiast. Autumn stirs memory and loneliness. What’s that about? Some neurotransmitter loss? Not enough fun? Too much fun? Longing for the sun to shine?... Continue
A common question that arises in communities with many nonprofit organizations serving similar populations is, “Why don’t these organizations collaborate?” In response to that key question, organizations serving Sonoma Valley teens have recently started exploring collaboration possibilities. Spearheaded by the leadership of Sonoma Valley Teen Services... Continue
The average life span for American white males born in 2006 increased from 77 to 78 years. Sounds great for those American white males born in 2006, but much of the hoopla, when compared to the low-life expectancy rates of the past, has to do... Continue
In the world's economy there are only three types of money, fast, slow and no. Fast money is just that, credit which moves so quickly it requires the use of automated computer algorithms. At its extreme, fast money is circulating the globe, staying in sync... Continue
Try as we may to be blasé - making it the subject of horror movies, detective dramas, novels and so forth - the mystery of death remains humanity's primary conscious and unconscious preoccupation. The heart of philosophy and religion, not to mention Hollywood, "the great... Continue
As westward expansion began to slowly creep into Mexican territory by the mid 1830s, men, women and children made their way west across the country, hoping for a new beginning in California. In the early years, westward expansion on the California Trail was a man’s... Continue
Every new artifact of human culture generates a set of effects. The most predictable of these relate directly to the operation or impact of the artifact; for example, the invention of the automobile made the horse and buggy obsolete. Less obvious is its relationship to... Continue