The Statue of Liberty famously beckons "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", certainly one of the kindest welcoming messages any country has employed. And yet, I've been wondering why America can be so mean. I'm not saying American's... Continue
Public Citizen
America's political flirtation with a temperamental, impulsive, emotionally undeveloped political leader has blossomed into a full-blown crisis of faith in our systems of government and democracy itself, and comparisons between America in 2017 and George Orwell's “1984” are frequent and often salient. Accordingly, Orwell's dystopic... Continue
I live amid an urban oasis, a collection of very tall trees, timber bamboo and Japanese maples. Some of the trees are quite old, and know this tiny piece of Gaia's garden far better than I. In a rainy year like this, the tree's root-hairs... Continue
When the Greek city states of Athens and Sparta found themselves allied against the massive armies of the Persian king Darius and his son Xerxes (Circa 460 BC), they established a narrative about the "Barbarian" people threatening Greek society. Later, the very same narrative was... Continue
Living with uncertainty is our natural human condition. Moment to moment we don't really know what's coming next. For many of us uncertainty causes worry. We compensate for this by establishing patterns and making "plans" that for the most part seem to make life more... Continue
Like many, I find myself thinking about how best to resist the powerful emergence of reactionary, right-wing politics in America, and I've decided to go with the Our Gang School of Political Resistance. It's an approach that worked wonders for Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Wheezer, Darla... Continue
I'm enjoying my life. I didn't ask to be here but now I don't want to leave; seems to be my particular version of the human condition. Think about it; two microscopic gametes meet and decide to live together as one for a lifetime. If... Continue
Leaked documents detailing urine-play in a hotel in Russia are spattering the reputation of Donald Trump. It's been a while since "night water" has been in the news, but historically the topic of urine has bubbled up from time to time in literature and satire. Donald... Continue
I like quiet. I don't mean the complete silence of no sound whatsoever, but the quiet of the natural world. I find the sound of leaves rustling in the wind comforting. The same is true of water running in a creek, or birdsong. My wife... Continue
The Industrial Revolution is often mistakenly cited as the cause of the loss of human labor, but to the contrary, the engine of global capitalism fueled by the Industrial Revolution would never have developed without the hands of human labor. Efficient and highly productive machine... Continue