Public Citizen

Larry Barnett lives in Sonoma where he was elected to three terms on the City Council and served twice as Mayor. A thirty-five-year resident, he currently serves on Sonoma's Planning Commission, where he recently was Chair for two years. Until her passing, he was married to his wife Norma for 50 years, has two daughters and three grandchildren.

AI and the implicate order

Now that the age of AI – Artificial Intelligence - is upon us, so are fears of being replaced. Workers in disciplines as varied as medicine, engineering, law, and scientific analysis are running scared, and they should be. History teaches that any new groundbreaking technology... Continue

Where was her free will?

Chapter 54: 1949 • “Bettyyyy. Claudiaaa.” Mother’s nightly yell for supper bounced across the yard until it floated down to the soft shadows of the creek where the girls fooled away their afternoons catching tadpoles. Betty paid no attention to Mom. Claudia, emptying her Mason... Continue

Why creativity matters

“The pace of cultural change is accelerating more quickly than ever before, writes Liane Gabora, Psychology and Creative Studies Professor at the University of British Columbia. “In times of change we need to bump up creativity levels – to generate the innovative ideas that... Continue

Why creativity matters

In defense of the “Boomers”

Boomer. What exactly does this word mean? It could be someone who makes loud booming noises, or a person born in the years just after World War II. This was known as the Baby Boom, as those that had grown up during the Great Depression... Continue

Rattlesnakes alive!

I recently had a “Full Monty” encounter with a big ol’ rattlesnake. I was hiking above Fern Lake on Sonoma Developmental Center open space lands when I turned onto an asphalt path at Camp Via. Shocked to a standstill by shrill rattling and hissing, I... Continue

On being neurotypical

Neurological function varies and past conceptions of “mental disorders” unfairly placed some people in pejorative categories. With increased understanding, “retarded” gave way to “handicapped” which yielded to “disabled” and finally to “neurodivergent.” Appreciation of differences in neurological functioning and capabilities has opened the eyes of... Continue

What’s the point?

So read a recent comment on one of my philosophical articles, and it’s a worthwhile question to contemplate. A friend of mine made a similar remark during a past conversation. “I like talking about practical things,” he said, indicating that philosophical talk was not useful.... Continue

Sonoma won’t have a second dispensary anytime soon. Why not?

Last month the Sonoma City Council addressed the issue of issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a second cannabis dispensary within city limits. The city’s cannabis ordinance was changed two years ago to allow another dispensary, its second. But at its April 19 meeting,... Continue

The reckoning ahead

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum, a great variety of morbid symptoms appear. So said Antonio Gramsci. This great pre-WWII Italian political leader and deep political theoretician set the terms... Continue

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