Category: Society

Portland, Seattle…. Where Are We

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So Many Different Stories are Mixed in All This. It’s Worth Keeping Track

What’s Happening on the Ground

I have written in this space before that Portland does have a history of problematic protests. If memory serves, this is the case in Seattle as well, although to a much lesser degree. I mention this not to besmirch the movements taking place there, but only to call out that there are mixed in these communities who welcome chaos and violence.

A fight with federal forces that draws blood would be fine with them. That they would play right into Trump’s hands is likely irrelevant to them.

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The Pandemic Has Already Taught Us 3 Important Technology Lessons

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We Have So Much More Technology Than We Had – And So Much Less Than We Need

 

A Dramatic Escalation of a Trend Already Underway

One of the byproducts of the pandemic has been the dramatic increase in adaptation by Americans of video teleconferencing and other online communications tools.

I say “adaptation,” which may be too strong a word. Some have indeed become quite capable and comfortable with this new venue. Others are using it only under great duress and reluctance.

The idea of replacing live meetings with video teleconferencing (VTC) is hardly new.

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In One Week, Two Very Different Views of America

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Which One Do You Think is Worthy? Which Path Shall We Choose?

 

Our World is a Lesser Place Today

Much has been said about the passing of John Lewis. Much should be said. I come from a background wherein the word hero is used sparingly. I know a lot of people I like or admire. Those I call heroes could be counted by hand, with some fingers left over. John Lewis makes that count. He was among the best of us, and he constantly called out for the best within us.

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The Power of Social Pressure to Do Good

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What We Are Beginning to Do with Masks Can Turn the Corner

Some Brief History Lessons – Starting with Tobacco

I grew up in the South, in a state that was largely agricultural at the time. That agriculture sector was dominated by tobacco, as was much of the state legislature. Smoking was thoroughly integrated into popular culture in dozens of ways. Even in later years, as a young Army officer, my C rations came with a small pack of cigarettes, because so many people smoked, and getting shot at from time to time inclined one to light up to relax a bit.

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We Are Witnessing BIG History. Take Notes.

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Some of This Will Inspire Us. Much of This Will Not Be Pretty

The following post was one I drafted back in early March, but never posted. It was bumped by other news and forgotten. At the time, we were just starting to experience the pandemic that now dominates so much of our lives. Little did we know back then just how big an effect we were about to experience, and how long this fight was going to be. Looking back on this post, it seems both prophetic and a bit innocent, almost naive. I don’t know about you,

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Everyone Has Been Writing About Police Reform – There is A Reason I Waited

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Sometimes Your First Reaction is Not Your Best Choice

Ours is a country in some turmoil today. The time around the 4th of July is, it seems to me, a most excellent time to remind ourselves that this country is less about what it is than about what it could be. We should be mature enough to admit our shortfalls, hopeful enough to believe in our promise.

Let’s talk about how we police in the USA. This issue has been a lightning rod for commentary, much of it loose on the Left and the Right Things are getting sorted out enough at this point that I think we can have a productive discussion.

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What was Old is New Again

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The Isolation of the Pandemic has Given a New Life to Some Old Connectors

 

Miss Everyone?

As we move towards our sixth, and certainly NOT our last month, of varying degrees of isolation, people are reaching out to find connections.  For some, this is more important than to others. A good friend said to me awhile back, “We are huggers. This is killing us!” Some of us, myself included, do miss people, but its manageable. In my heart of hearts, I think I was always one of those old-style forest rangers who spent weeks alone in a fire tower.

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The Question of the Day: WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!

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In Case You Missed Them, a Few Indications This Week That Our Species Has a Bell Curve

What a Week That Was

I generally have the next 2-3 blogs outlined a few days ahead of time. On occasion, events cause me to bump the order of things, but for the most part, the system allows me to give some time and thought to what shows up in your inbox. That was the plan for today.

I have indeed given much thought to this posting, but it is not the one I started with originally.

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About Those Monuments (and Streets, and Entryways, and Schools…)

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The Drive to Correct Old Wrongs is Exactly Right – But Expect Problems

Will We, at Last, Do the Right Thing?

It seems that most, if not almost all, confederate monuments are coming down. Most by formal governmental action, almost all by citizen demand, some by mob action. More on that last category in a moment.

The discussion of why these things need to come down has taken root. The most recent poll shows that a majority of Americans (52%) agree they should come down. That percentage will continue to grow. In my own home area,

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In the End, It’s All About the Air

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How Managing the Air We Breathe is the Pandemic End Game

We are all, logically, concentrating these days on social distancing, proper wearing of masks, and testing. We hope that not too much further down the road there will be a vaccination, even though that will take some time to be fully distributed.

But at the end of it all, public confidence, and our ability to manage not only this pandemic but the next one (and there will be a next one) will depend on how well the air we breathe can be cleaned in a wide variety of settings.

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