Category: Social Justice

Chickens Coming Home to Roost

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It Appears That a Lot of Arrogance is About to Pay the Price

Dues Will Be Paid

One of the more irritating elements of modern politics is the number of politicians and others with power seem to think they can do whatever they wish, with no attention paid to public opinion, social norms, or the law. A nice pattern of that sort of thing is popping up all over the country. Glad to see it.

Voters Speak Out

Florida has a 6 week abortion ban coming into effect next month. One generally does not even know they are pregnant at this point.

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January 30, 2024

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Politics, Science, Society – A Look Around Various Corners of America Today

How Many Types of Politicians Are There?

Bottom line, there really are only two basic types of politicians and would-be leaders, with one subset noted.Part of being a political leader is deciding what will be used to motivate people to vote for and support you. In spite of all the complexities and variances of modern life, this choice comes down to two basic approaches.

Types One and Two

Type I is to inspire, to call out our best in each other, to stress the us in USA.

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Good News, Here & Now      

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As Promised Last Week, Signs of Progress and Possibilities

Where We Are

An awful lot of what we read in the media, and what we say to each other, calls out a sense of Doom, with a capital D. The political atmosphere seems permanently charged and forever divided There is, in fact, no shortage of seriously worrisome and frightening news out there, just waiting for us.

But hold on a minute- there is a lot of positive news to celebrate and encourage as well. Let’s remind ourselves of a few of them as we start a new year.

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Book Banning May Be The Single Worst Idea of All Time

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It’s Wrong to Begin With, and Never Stops with “Just” Book Banning

Better Late Than Never

We were going to talk about this over a week ago, but the Middle East demanded a change of focus. That obscene mess is certainly not over, and we likely will come back to it again, but life does not think much of doing one thing at a time.

So, while we worry about international affairs, let’s not loose focus on key domestic issues. And book banning is pretty darn high on that list that deserves our attention and our action.

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The Middle East – Again

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The History is Ugly, The Future is Doubtful – Is This Really The Best We Can All Do?

This Terrible Situation

In every imaginable way, this is about as bad as it gets – and it will get worse.

Unspeakable violence – pure savagery, unspeakable murders were committed against Israel. Over 1300 died, including babies, handicapped, people asleep in their own beds. Thousands more were wounded. None feel secure, anywhere. Israel, meant to be a home for a people on the very edge of annihilation, suffered the worst attack and intelligence failure since the country was founded.

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A Perpetual Conundrum: Immigration & Migration

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How Solvable is This? Are There Wins to be Had, for Anyone?

The American Experience with Immigration

Historically and in modern times, America has been shaped in many ways by immigrants. Much of our progress, culture, and social construct comes from immigrants. After all, the ancestors of most of us were immigrants, too. I think one could make the case that so much that is good about this country comes from immigration. I acknowledge that Native Americans might take exception to that idea, and they surely have a point. But that is another conversation, for another time.

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Lessons Offered from the Ohio Vote

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Whether All Sides LEARN Those Lessons is in Question

What Was This All About?

On the surface, the issues were quite clear. The effort run by Republican legislators sought to change Ohio law, saying that referendums must pass by 60% of the vote, vs half the vote (50%) +1, which has been the law for decades. Also included were requirements making it harder for citizens to gather enough signatures to get something on the ballot.

But a great deal more was, of course, at stake. This referendum was done to kill off the ballot initiative scheduled for this Fall to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution.

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Tuesday, July 25

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Five Very Different Topics to Reflect Upon for This Round

Tony Bennett

We don’t do much on show business or entertainment in this blog. If you ever saw me dance or heard me sing, you would be grateful that the scant treatment of such things in this blog minimizes your risk of ever seeing a video of me doing such things. You are welcome.

But an exception for Tony Bennett. He was, quite simply, the best of his generation at what he did – maybe the best ever. Frank Sinatra once said Bennett was the best singer he ever heard.

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Some Really Good News About the Supreme Court

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The Court Certainly Was in the Headlines Recently – Now We Live with the Results

Happy Fourth of July, America

Before today’s posting, a moment to wish everyone a good day celebrating our country’s birthday. For all the huge problems and threats we face (See the discussion below, for example), this still is a remarkable place to live and a grand experiment in the human species.  There is much to celebrate and much to face up to honestly. May we be mature enough and brave enough to both celebrate and face up – both are called for.

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Assorted Odds and Ends

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Nature’s Metaphor

We had a remarkably mild winter in my area of the Smoky Mountains. We had one cold snap, around Christmas and New Year’s Day. It was a short but ferocious cold snap. A lot of trees, shrubs, and small critters did not make it. It led me to a hard late winter. In short order, an early spring seemed to arrive. But too late for those who could not survive the earlier snap. In a sense, that is a metaphor for life more broadly. Expect the unexpected and be prepared to deal with challenges that seemed unimaginable just days earlier.

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