On December 19, 2015 The New York Times ran an opinion piece by Kevin Baker entitled Political Party Meltdown, which put perspective and a smidgen of clarity to the opaque and toxic swamp that is our Congress. I urge you to read his insightful essay now. Then have a look at the exchange between my… [read more]
Not Politics – Except It Is
Reading time – 39 seconds; Viewing time – 1:53 . . . It’s just a little over 20 years since O.J. Simpson’s murder trial. In a country of continuing homicides, we fixated on that murder of two innocent people, surely in part due to the celebrity of the accused. The verdict of innocent enraged whites… [read more]
Safe, Proven . . .
First watch this feel-good 30-second ad from The People of America’s Oil and Natural Gas Industry (click on the video to start it): What was it the pretty blonde in the black suit said in such soothing tones, as pleasant images caressed your eyeballs? ” . . . safe, proven hydraulic fracturing technology.” Yes,… [read more]
Change?
Reading time – 21 seconds . . . Alan King was a brilliant comedian. He brought sophistication to the discussion of street level life and backed it with his mostly undisclosed intellectualism, as he poked a stick in the eye of human foolishness. We are faced today with great challenges and it’s plain to see… [read more]
Good at Heart – Guest Essay
If you had already caught a glimpse of this you likely wondered what can be done and who will stand up to the bullies. Well, some help is right here. Joel Altschul (no relation) is a thoughtful guy, a good writer and a pal. He’s troubled by what is happening in America and recently sent… [read more]
What Are We Becoming?
Reading time – 46 seconds; viewing time – 2:07 . . . We’re seeing many more Confederate stars and bars, now that Donald Trump has assumed the mantle of Leader Of the Crazy Opposition (acronym: LOCO). These are the terminally angry people who want to return America to their America, whatever it is they imagine… [read more]
Crimes of Passion and Packing Heat
Reading time – 53 seconds; viewing time – 2:56 . . . Crimes of passion are exactly that: crimes of passion. When the fight-or-flight instinct kicks in, the amygdala is screaming out imperatives at about 10 times the rate of our analytical, logical pre-frontal cortex. In other words, we act solely in response to… [read more]
How To Stop Talking Past One Another
Reading time – 3.1 minutes; viewing time – 4:58 . . . Gotta wonder how righties and lefties can stop talking past one another and join in order to start solving some of our vexing challenges. Here’s a key piece of what has to happen if we are to progress. First, some context. The pundits… [read more]
The Headline
Reading time – 43 seconds . . . What is your headline from the New Hampshire Democratic debate? Maybe it’s one of these: Governor O’Malley said that his evidence that we haven’t invested enough in human intelligence in the middle-east is that some things have happened that we didn’t see coming. He spoke with the… [read more]
Who Should I Vote For?
Reading time – This guest essay is longer than typical Disambiguations & worth it. Grab a second cup o’ Joe and settle in for some thinking . . . Following a recent post about a Wall street guy who supports Bernie Sanders I received a private email from boyhood pal Frank Levy (boyhood nickname: Skip)…. [read more]
