Chapter 66: Summer 1950 • Sonora ~ The family met Jay Bruce and his wife in the summer of 1950 when their car broke down and was being repaired across the way at Kelley’s. Betty was amazed; they were the oldest people Betty had ever... Continue
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This Sun column, Progressive Majority Coalition, has had a long-standing open mission of converting liberals into progressives. The fact that I am not concerned with trying to convert or persuade conservatives or anarchists is my way of focusing my efforts. At the risk of narrowing... Continue
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the endless problems of the world; things always seem to be in turmoil. War, hunger, bigotry, Fascism, economic collapse, political extremism, lethal pandemics, over-population, artificial intelligence; the list goes on and on. Most of the world’s problems are... Continue
At the age of 27 I left Minneapolis for L.A. in my big blue Chevy pickup truck. The road ahead and the possibilities seemed endless. I thought my life would go on and on, forever, no thoughts of death, no thoughts of the end of... Continue
Of the elements of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1830), the development of interchangeable parts was among its most significant. Not simply the efficiency of building machines was affected; workers were reduced to interchangeable parts, too, which greatly enabled the growth of capitalism. As economist Karl Polanyi... Continue
Chapter 65: 1950 • Camp McBride, Strawberry Lake, Pinecrest, California Even though she shunned ruffles and ric-rac, Betty carried a purse wherever she went, typically a small shoulder strap as it freed her hands to climb fences. She had a collection of pocketbooks handed down... Continue
On Wednesday, November 1, the county’s Climate Action and Resiliency Division held a Virtual Town Hall that I hosted along with Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, with whom I sit on the Board of Supervisors’ Climate Ad Hoc. When I was last Chair of the Board of... Continue
“Escape From Freedom” is a 1941 book by the psychiatrist Erich Fromm. If I’d read it twenty years ago, I’d have found it an interesting account of authoritarianism and the rise of Fascism in Germany. Having read it recently, I found it pertinent and alarming.... Continue
Words, can they hurt us? Can certain words create fear, make us angry, sad or depressed? Read these words. How do you feel? What do you think? These words are from a recent email to a Sonoma County Supervisor: “Fat old lady… Be careful what... Continue
This past Friday, November 10th, the workers and community supporters of the hotel workers seeking to join UNITE HERE Local 2 held a lively rally outside the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. We marched in union picket formation for about an hour, making a long circle... Continue