What we call communication - the words and symbols we employ both orally and in written form - strikes me as too primitive to be trusted. Our connections with each other one-on-one or in small groups can include physical contact, but once we get beyond... Continue
Public Citizen
Sonoma Valley's close proximity to eight-million people is a physical reality. That our valley happens to be exceptionally beautiful, contains historic and charming villages, and offers some of the finest agricultural land and growing conditions in the world is also true. Yet, combine these factors... Continue
The Trump administration's dissing of opponents reminds me of comments made by Richard Nixon's Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, who criticizing the opposition, condemned the "effete corps of impudent snobs." Agnew, forced to resign due to evidence of bribery and corruption, did not write those words; speech-writer... Continue
Authoritarian regimes use threats of force, coercion and intimidation to cow the populace and force it into submission to that regime's imperatives. Enlisting the aid of those who wield weapons - military and police forces with the power to arrest and incarcerate - regimes bent... Continue
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
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