Recently, House Representative Maxine Water’s exhorted right-minded  people to  confront President Donald Trump’s cabinet members in public places to protest his unconscionable policy on immigration.  (Click) Several Facebook friends agreed.  One man remarked if others weren�

In her essay, “Musical Chairs,” Rebecca Solnit parses the numerous splits in American politics. I  particularly like her description of the Republican party.  She charges it “preaches the gospel of austerity while running up deficits,” and extols individual rights, “except

In 1936, Aldous Huxley observed that if democracy is to work, one must govern with the consent of the people.  (“Modern Despots,” by Aldous Huxley, reprinted for a 1936 article in Harper’s, February 18, 2018, pg. 37.)  Thanks to gerrymandering and the Electoral College, who co

I joked  with a friend, recently, that if religious conservatives have their way, abortions will be illegal at the point of coitus.  We both laughed.  But I’m not laughing anymore.  Iowa’s woman governor, Kim Reynolds, has signed a bill that makes abortion illegal at the first

President Donald Trump will probably appoint a Supreme Court Justice during his presidency.  That appointment will tilt the current balance between liberal and conservative justices on that bench.  His choice will be of great concern and keep journalists up to their elbows in ink fo

I confess I’m a fan of the television series, Big Bang Theory.  The 30 minute program centers on scientists who are captivated by comic book heroes.  Sexual gags aside, the program exudes a childlike innocence, not dissimilar, I suppose, from the curiosity a scientist feel

Chatting over coffee, a friend told a joke that not only made me laugh, but also made me think:  “Donald Trump dies and finds God peering down at him from his golden throne.  ‘Well Donald,’ God asks in a booming voice.  ‘What have you to say for yourself?’&nbs

Several years ago, a woman, who would later become the first female governor of Oregon, snapped at my observation that politics would be better off without political parties.  People should vote directly for candidates without needing approval from an “old boy” network, I said. 

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton described Donald Trump as “temperamentally unsuited” for the office.  How prescient her words were.  Most of us now know the holder of the nation’s highest office is, indeed, temperamentally unsuited.  Neither a prudent n

My last official portrait appears on my blog page.  Seventy-three at the time, I knew I was old, but wasn’t prepared when the photographer pulled out a “soft” lens for the shoot. He said he’d take a few images with it.  I might like them better. The proofs showed the