Reading time – 73 seconds . . . In his stunning article in the June, 2014 The Atlantic exploring the issue of reparations for our American treatment of slaves and the effects on their descendents, Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes a Chicago Tribune editorial from 1891 that addresses this same issue: “They have been taught to labor…. [read more]
Pale Blue Dot
Reading time – 39 seconds Because ginormous money influence in our politics is the mother of all of our political dysfunction, I usually focus my energy on that. There are specific issues of vast and lasting importance to us individually and collectively, though, and sometimes there is impetus to stick a toe in specific waters…. [read more]
Action Alert – TODAY!
Reading time – 19 seconds . . . Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) has sponsored a bill to amend the Constitution and has 37 co-sponsors. His bill will overturn corporate rights and begin to get democracy killing big money out of our politics and start us on the road to solving the complex problems that are… [read more]
New Ryan Budget Adjustment
Reading time – 23 seconds . . . Washington DC – In a press briefing in front of the Washington Field Office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced new details of his updated budget plan. “To help save the economy,” Ryan announced, “we’re making an important change to our… [read more]
Nothing Conservative To See Here – Move Along
Reading time . . . 43 seconds There are so many programs that the Republicans used to support, like healthcare reform, gun background checks and programs that suggest something science-y, like cap-and-trade. For six years, though, they have been focused solely on opposing anything President Obama supports, so they have turned their backs on their… [read more]
Tiananmen Square and the U.S.
Reading time – 62 seconds . . . The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars published a stunning article by Terril Yue Jones, Associated Press correspondent in China in 1989, entitled Tiananmen Square at 25 that has a shocking message for us as we continue down our slippery slope from one person, one vote. By… [read more]
You’ll Koch On This – Chapter 2
Reading time – 41 seconds The city of Nashville, TN is expecting major growth over the next 20 years, including the expansion of its population by about a million people. To help deal with current congestion and to get ahead of the coming glut of cars on Nashville area roads, the city is proposing a… [read more]
Breakfast With an Old Friend
Reading time – 52 seconds . . . He lives in Santa Barbara, so of course our catch-up conversation included discussion about the homicides at UCSB – he lives just 3 miles from where the murders took place. He’s a bright and inquisitive guy and he asked me what I think the core issue about… [read more]
Support The Troops
Reading time – 59 seconds . . . Memorial Day 2014 – You’ve heard that a thousand times – and you do support the men and women in our military. Perhaps you thank them for their service when you pass them in an airport. We’ll be on the Village Green this morning to honor those… [read more]
You’ll Koch on This – Chapter 1
Reading time – 29 seconds . . . The Koch brothers and other big bucks boys sponsored a pension reform seminar and invited lots of judges to attend. It was all about how we will “reform” our pension system for public workers, given the enormous “unfunded liability” held by most states. What that means is that… [read more]
