Terrorism in the Old West

The murders at the offices of Charlie Hebdo didn’t surprise me, because of an odd personal coincidence. One of the very first movies I remember affecting me deeply as a child contained a similar incident. I have replayed this act of onscreen brutality many times in my mind.  When you’re a child, you believe what you see. To me it was history, a real incident, not drama. As a result, I have understood since then that there are “bad guys” who will kill because someone prints things they disagree with.

No Dinner Plans

spirituwellness

The following is a statement that was made for the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship upon the news of the “No Indictment” decision from the Grand Jury examining the case against Darren Wilson in the murder of Michael Brown.

The tragic irony of the grand jury decision from Ferguson, Missouri coming so close to the Thanksgiving holiday is inescapable. We should be preparing dinner, not a cultural war. In a metaphorical sense, we should be talking about how many more people we can put around the table, not how many more people will be turned away. This ongoing struggle between black and white is a global disgrace and the combination of this decision and the deluge of news that we sift through also highlights how we are asked to “choose” where we put our attentions for justice. You see, the media and the ignorant would have us believe that…

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A Life of Integrity

“I like to say I’m more conservative than Goldwater. He just wanted to turn the clock back to when there was no income tax. I want to turn the clock back to when people lived in small villages and took care of each other.”

— Pete Seeger

Mandela

SORRY FOLKS! I’m too busy in re-certification classes to write, but I can still read at study breaks. I found this simple statement breathtaking.

Donal

A few days ago, Eric L Wattree, a regular on dagblog, posted about why he thought Barack Obama will be remembered as a great president. In the comments there ensued a discussion of who were the greatest presidents, whether Obama, Clinton, Reagan, or Carter will be remembered as great or ordinary, and what determines greatness in office.

With the death of Nelson Mandela, I couldn’t help wondering what an American president would have had to endure and accomplish to be considered in the same breath with Mandela.

Suppose Frederick Douglass, after escaping torture by the slavebreaker at Mt Misery, didn’t safely escape to the North in 1838. Suppose he had non-violently protested against the slavery condoned by the US government, then later organized attacks on US government targets. Suppose instead of being executed he had been imprisoned for almost three decades. Suppose he had led the antislavery movement from within…

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The Hazards of Early Success

I just read about Harper Lee suing to have the copyright and royalties on “To Kill a Mockingbird” restored to her.  She’s 87, dwells in an assisted-living facility, can’t see or hear well, and admits to “memory problems”.  Since I don’t know Miz Lee and am not a lawyer, of course I can’t resist stubbornly trying to read between the lines of this news story.  That’s my specialty, in case you hadn’t noticed.

Viewing Tragedies in Proper Perspective

Confusions Over that CPR Incident

(This is from the form used in my state.)

Some of my friends have been asking me to react in print about the case of Lorraine Bayless, who died Feb. 26^th.  Now that more of the facts are known, I can admit that I was misled by news reports, as most everyone else was.

Irrationalities

I’ve been hearing a lack of reason in the current debate over how to deal with our violent culture, including through gun control.  I can’t go very deep with this subject, because the flaws in these arguments are so obvious, but I still feel the need to give some simple reactions.

UPHELD !!!

I don’t normally get up early to hear Supreme Court decisions.  All their decisions are legally important, but many of them don’t directly affect my profession and the people I provide service to.  This ruling about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act affects all citizens.

Hot Button Home Run

The last (and only previous) time I referred to TIME, the magazine, was in a review of their article on the possible non-existence of hell, which they teased on the cover and then didn’t really address.  This time I think TIME hit one out of the park.  They chose a concept as “Person of the Year” – The PROTESTER.

Black Pepper Friday?

The region of the United States I used to be from is well known for setting trends.  Folks there are the pioneers of all sorts of innovations, good and bad.  A couple of holiday seasons back, prospective customers in Palm Springs were shooting each other over the availability of some price-reduced TVs.  I’m glad to say that sort of dangerous behavior has evolved and improved since.

Internet Justice

There were these college students who were objecting to huge hikes in tuition.  It’s one of those “clear messages” people have been demanding of protesters in the Occupy movement.

Small Town Free Press

For a couple of years before we moved from Los Angeles County (pop. gazillions) to Port Townsend, WA (pop. 9k), I read the weekly newspaper online as a way to familiarize myself with Washington’s issues and interests.

Would It Kill Ya?

“What did I do wrong?”

You’ll have to pardon me for over-simplifying.  I’m busy training a puppy, and all lessons need to be reduced to basics to minimize the time required to learn them.  Ready?  If you treat people nicely, they are more likely to cut you some slack even if it’s against the rules to be nice back to you.

Understanding the U.S. Occupation

As often happens during a revolutionary movement, icons will be mis-quoted and appropriated and remolded for other purposes.

Maybe I Need a Hug

Saints preserve us, I’m going to talk politics, sort of.  I try not to, because the way people talk politics is so limiting, exclusionary and insensitive I get upset and angry just being exposed to it.  I’m married to an ex-news writer, but I generally ask her to don headphones if she intends to watch news in my presence.

Kill Tech

I don’t write about political topics in this space because I don’t think I have much to add to the discussion that isn’t already being better written by others.  I’m making an exception because I think this topic is as much historical-cultural as it is political.

Why TV News Sucks

Paddy Chayefsky was a prophet.  When he wrote the oscar-winning screenplay for the 1976 film Network, he predicted that the news divisions would become subservient to the entertainment divisions of TV networks, because the profit motive is more powerful than the intent to provide a public service free from the need to be selling something to the audience besides the facts.