Reading time – 47 seconds . . . “Democracy is a verb.” That’s what William McNary told us, speaking on July 26, 2015 on the Winnetka, IL Village Green at the 2015 Justice Day event. It was 50 years to the day since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to 10,000 people gathered in that… [read more]
Candidate Don Quixote
Reading time – 44 seconds . . . Miguel de Cervantes told the tale of Don Quixote, an old man, perhaps with dementia, who did things that looked crazy to more able-brained observers. In a peasant hag he saw a lady – his lady – a woman of the highest order and worthy of his… [read more]
Congressional Monkeys
Reading time – 1 minute, 19 seconds . . . My brother recently sent along a story (thanks, JHA) that is an adaptation of the findings of a 1967 ground-breaking experiment with rhesus monkeys performed by Gordon R. Stephenson. It is presented here for your review. See if you can read this without nodding your… [read more]
You’re So Smart
Reading time – 9 (not a typo) seconds . . . The time is growing short for Congress to figure this out. Happily, you can help. This is your time to be the smartest kid in class, the first in your neighborhood, the person in the know. About the Iran deal. Everything you need is… [read more]
Spirit
Reading time – 47 seconds . . . Religion is all about rules laid down by people who lived a long time ago, rules commonly called dogma. Those people said (or somebody else said) that the words of their dogma were given to them by God or inspired by God. It is an act of… [read more]
If I Agreed With You
Reading time – 16 seconds . . . Frequent business travel offers many opportunities to learn. For example, I saw a guy wearing this T-shirt at O’Hare Airport last week. It pretty well defines our national attitude toward open-mindedness, eagerness to learn, tolerance of change and even to creativity. How’s that working for us? If… [read more]
The Endarkened Right
Reading time – 54 seconds . . . This is just too strange – read through to the end and you’ll see why. And, yes, I know that “endarkened” isn’t a word. For now, though, let it stand as the polar opposite of “enlightened.” And let “right” mean not “correct,” but the stupidly polar opposite… [read more]
Babble, Rinse, Repeat
Reading time – 36 seconds . . . An open message to Hillary: This just isn’t working. Pretending that email-gate is laughable or of no consequence makes it look like you’re being flippant about national security. That’s making red meat Republicans absolutely giddy over the scent of scandal in their flaring nostrils. It’s also making… [read more]
Nothing Has Changed
Reading time – 19 seconds; Listening time – 2 minutes . . . Set aside the Republican circus sideshow barker for now, because he is exactly what Steve Schmidt labeled him: The candidate of middle finger Republicans. The reason his poll numbers don’t go down when he says offensive things is because his vulgarity feeds… [read more]
Letter to the Editor, Chicago Tribune
Reading time – 52 seconds . . . A recent poll showed that 96% of Americans deplore the influence of big money on our politics and want that changed. But that hasn’t happened and that big money is the mother lode that drives our national dysfunction. After 20 little kids and 6 teachers were gunned… [read more]
