Crypto this, crypto that. It seems like a new cryptocurrency is introduced every week. But what, exactly, is the cryptocurrency mania about? Essentially, it’s the privatization of currency, yet another fragmenting of society facilitated by digital technology. The underlying basis of all currencies is faith... Continue

Norma, my dear departed wife of fifty years and I owned and lived in four homes. We bought our first home in 1984, a dilapidated house near the southern border of Piedmont, CA, just a block from Oakland’s Grand Avenue. We lived there for five... Continue

Democracy’s an idea that’s been kicking around for thousands of years, an attempt to bring a particular form of order to a chaotic world. Criticism of democracy goes all the way back to Plato’s Republic in Ancient Greece of 380 B.C., his thoughts on how... Continue

Being alive is a risky business; we live in a predatory world, a living system where life feeds on life. As such, risk and the threat of injury and/or death is always present. This is true for the smallest and the largest of living things.... Continue

The analysis, commentary, and complaints about American politics are prolific. Certain themes are repeatedly explored, such as voters’ educational levels, identity, and economic status, but all these are basically subordinate to the one factor nobody really talks about: the psychology of politics. Psychology, an exploration... Continue

What’s going on in the world is so outlandish that it would be rejected by Hollywood as implausible, too unlikely and unbelievable. Do you find yourself asking, “Who writes this stuff?” And yet, the plot goes on. Here’s a pitch: A coddled Rich Kid from... Continue

Sorting out truth from fiction has never been easy, and today it’s harder than ever. The proliferation of disinformation, political propaganda, shameless self-promotion, and outright deception makes it very difficult to know what’s true. Lies are often more interesting, too. But what is truth, or... Continue

As the current administration in Washington continues to run roughshod over the constitution, congress and the courts, it’s worthwhile asking how it is that America’s autocrats learned to behave the way they do. The answer is stunningly obvious: America’s workplace. In their wisdom, our founding... Continue

I began my adult life at eighteen protesting the war in Vietnam. The Reverend William Sloane Coffin delivered our high school graduation address decrying America’s militarism, and I took up the cause. Admittedly, my impression of the army was influenced early by watching Phil Silver’s... Continue