“The rubicon (sic) has been crossed. The fire of revolution has been lit.”  So wrote a representative of the white supremacist group the Proud Boys on Telegram, after the January 6, 2021 insurrection.  (“Capitol Insurrection,…” by Cassie Miller and Hannah Gais, Southern Po

“We are a storytelling species, every bit as much as a tool-using one,” writes the author of The English Professor Who Foresaw Modern Neuroscience.   I agree. As a teacher, I would tell my students, “If you want to see how your mind works, write something.”  Composition exp

Bear cubs in California are displaying an alarming affection for humans. Victims of brain encephalitis, their behavior seems cute, but it could cost them their lives. Some with the illness are lucky enough to be adopted by a wildlife refuge or zoo. The rest are euthanized because they

A friend at the retirement center sat down beside me one afternoon in the temporary lounge that management had arranged, its chairs set 6 feet apart.  It’s a place where residents are supposed to carry on conversations while masked. Despite her face covering, I heard a sigh as she

What a year 2020 is turning out to be.  A pandemic, the upcoming elections, and the untimely death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg are vying for top spots in the headlines. Given the cacophony, it’s little wonder few have noticed another woman has cracked a glass ceili

Having lived through the Asian flu epidemic in the late 1950s, I’m pretty sure the coronavirus will eventually wend its way out of our system. For one thing, science knows a good deal more about how to mount a viral defense than in those earlier days. A vaccine may arrive sooner rat

Rivaling the most ribald scenes from French farce, Republican senators at the 2020 impeachment trial of Donald Trump performed with enough buffo to have earned them laughs. Too bad they were unaware the play was a tragedy.   Never mind, let us begin with their farce of jurist imparti

If age has taught me one lesson, it’s that the past is not prologue to the future. Even so, the media is awash with pundits acting as touts, giving political tips to anyone who will listen. David Faris’ recent article in The Week, for example, offers a damning critique of how the

Politics on the local and national spheres share one value in common. Voters expect their representatives to serve their constituents without seeking personal gain.  In Oregon, the feeling is so strong, that when I served in public office, I rejected a free lunch if it was offered. 

I’ve never played chess but I have played a little politics and from where I sit, the Democrats need to refine their strategies to take control of government.   Too many of its shinning stars are lining up for the Presidential race.  Instead, candidates from red state