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
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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
My husband Dave and I were putting up posters for a Wake Up Sonoma protest at the Springs Post Office building and the Lanning Structures site a couple of weeks ago. A man came up to us, looked at the poster and said, “You are... Continue
When I ask people about the state of this twirling world, some say: “We’re going to hit the wall,” or “It’s horrible, what’s happening with war, politics, the cost of medications and housing, but what can I do about it?” That’s a dangerous thought. We... Continue
Why are we so war-like, or more honestly, why are men so war-like? War-like behavior among wild chimpanzees is a documented fact. Naturalist Jane Goodall observed that when a group of chimpanzees breaks off from a larger troop, the two alpha-male groups get into conflict.... Continue
Chapter 64: 1950 • Sonora, California At fourteen, my sister Carleen stepped into our mother's shoes when Mom was gone. It was expected and she didn’t think much about it, she simply did it. When she went anywhere she took me with her. On her... Continue
The core value proposition of this column from Day One is to turn liberals into progressives. This mission has felt critical at times. Now is one of those times. We have less time than we expected before the coming series of crises overwhelms our inadequately... Continue
For this month’s column, I wanted to write about two different topics: Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and two community meetings I hosted in the past few weeks: a bilingual community listening session in the Springs on the Sonoma Valley Regional Services Hub, and a Town... Continue
Having moved from the unconscious existence of pre-human animal life governed by biological drives and hereditary instinct, we find ourselves faced with power and the freedom of choice in how we rule our lives, both individually and collectively. Ruling ourselves is an inescapable human predicament... Continue
Why do you teach the arts, I asked the visual and performing arts teachers in SVUSD recently. Their answers revealed the transformational role of creativity and the arts in education. It’s every TK-12 child’s right to be taught by qualified arts educators, on a regular... Continue