I watched the movie Koyaanisqatsi when I was in my thirties. The images stay with me to this day. According to Hopi Dictionary: Hopìikwa Lavàytutuveni, the Hopi word koyaanisqatsi (Hopi pronunciation: [kojɑːnisˈkɑtsi]) is defined as "life of moral corruption and turmoil" or "life out of balance."... Continue
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The bitter defeat of the Biden Administration’s signature initiative, the Build Back Better plan to reset the terms of American capitalism, has black-pilled me about the near-term prospects of a progressive shift in course in our national politics to deal with the coming century of... Continue
Chapter 26: 1946 • Sonora ~ Squatting on the front stoop in the low afternoon sun, Betty, all of six, and Claudia just four, sat wondering what kind of trouble they could get into, when their plans were cut short. An eerie howling, like a trapped... Continue
In the last Sheriff’s election, in 2018, I was drawn into an active editorial role for an elected office that I had never taken an interest in. Usually the Sheriff’s race was about internal professional rivalries, which is irrelevant to a pragmatic progressive like me.... Continue
I read the book On Bullshit, by Harry Frankfurt, around the time it was published in 2005. Frankfurt determines that BS is speech intended to persuade without regard for truth. The liar cares about the truth and attempts to hide it; the BS’er doesn't care... Continue
Bending over the drain in front of my house, shoveling dirt and rocks away so the rain could flow through, my neighbor’s huge bulldog, all bulk and muscle, bolted between my legs. I jolted, standing straight up, fluttering an embarrassed request, “How about some help... Continue
Chapter 25: 1946 • Sonora ~ Sundays were family days that were spent reading the newspaper comics, going to church, and calling on relatives. The adults played canasta and bridge; the kids, Monopoly and Chinese checkers. They went for drives and had picnics in the country with... Continue
In Nation magazine, political commentator John Nichols, in an editorial titled “The Mess We’re In,” writes that “the Democrats must bring clarity to a chaotic national discourse that Republicans are gleefully disrupting…” Yes, except we’re all sick with disabling Omicron – may not kill you... Continue
I grew up in the suburbs of New York City where five of us lived in a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath single family home with our dog Bobo and an occasional cat. Behind our backyard was a wooded patch, a ramble of oak, maple, beech, and various... Continue
Ideas propel human society, imagination providing an inexhaustible source of fuel. Boundless in reach, ideas cross borders and influence cultures through networks of communication. Originally networks of communication traveled at the speed of direct transmission, sensory experiences such as touch, physical gesture, the spoken word,... Continue