No catastrophes are scheduled this week

Good News: No catastrophes are scheduled for this week! Wildfires are being controlled, earthquake monitors are flatlined, the Plague Is What It Is, and volcanoes are silent. Schools are closed, large gatherings banned, the NRA looted by its executives -- even mass-shootings have been postponed. ... Continue

The Great Purification

My late friend, scholar Kurt von Meier, had the opportunity to sit down with Hopi elders during the early 1970s and discuss the state of human affairs. The Hopi people have been living in the same place since before Columbus arrived, and are keen observers... Continue

Re-design the police: step one

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors made the courageous, unanimous (5-0) decision recently to place the Evelyn Cheatham Effective IOLERO Ordinance on the November ballot. This bold action was spurred by public demand for civic accountability of law enforcement, as expressed by the many street... Continue

Where’s the pet chicken?

Chapter 5: Mid 1940s, Sonora. Larry and Carleen went everywhere together. They were a year apart (he was born in 1934, she in ’35) with the same dark brown hair and brown eyes. When he was four, Larry wore an eye patch, and in first... Continue

Rolling the dice

Lately, life is like a monopoly game. Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. We’re either on lock down or looking for money. Searching for Park Place, stuck on Baltic. I gobble treats and carbs at midnight to quiet... Continue

The year of virtual engagement

There is no doubt that 2020 will be remembered for many things, but perhaps one of the most surprising and optimistic is the year of virtual engagement in the physical world. By necessity, we are all – teachers and CEOS, doctors and elementary school students,... Continue

Hating the haters

One of the toughest things about haters is hating them, finding yourself wrapped up in fear and anger you so dislike seeing in others. This, of course, is an experience haters never have; to be a hater requires setting aside introspection and appreciation of complexity.... Continue

I’m afraid of the big bad wolf

I happened upon an interview the other day between Chuck Todd and Chad Wolf on NBC's Meet the Press. Wolf is the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, although even that job designation is in question now that an ethics committee has found... Continue

The performance of cruelty

Well, now we know, if we didn’t know it already: this country has been since its inception and continues to be a racist society. That, for some of us, may be very hard to bear. But we are also learning, since the ascension of Donald... Continue

Hairballs gone wild

Social solidarity hasn’t vanished in Sonoma during this butt-kicking pandemic. We share hardships and we care. All of us are challenged at this time with the entire globe off its axis. If I wash my hands one more time I’ll wonder if I’ve gone completely... Continue

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