8 mins

The American Difference

With each day bringing more vexing news about the US presidential election, you may have overlooked some troubling election events rolling across Europe. There, like here, right-wing populist movements similar to MAGA mania are gaining momentum. The truth is, “vexing” and “troubling” aren’t heavy enough words for what’s going on on both sides of the ...

7 mins

Vive la France!

Pardonnez-moi, s’il vous plaît!   In my last blog, Elections Everywhere, I suggested we might learn a few things from elections in other countries. Unfortunately, my survey of elections elsewhere didn’t include stunning election news in France. French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved his country’s parliament and called for “snap” elections  — “snap” because voting begins ...

6 mins

Elections Everywhere

Perhaps you didn’t notice, but I’ve been silent for two months. That’s right, no blogs since April 8 yet no one’s asked why. The thought that you didn’t miss me dinged my ego a bit. I’ll get over it, but let me go ahead and answer the unasked question.   It’s an alliterative answer: myriad ...

4 mins

Ike’s Warning Revisited

As the world stares in horror at Gaza, it sees death, devastation and anguish everywhere: shrouded corpses in the streets awaiting removal; buildings, including hospitals, leveled; medical care nearly non-existent; famine looming.    But Israel’s six-month war against Hamas has not been an equal opportunity disaster. Some have benefitted, including Israel’s prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu. ...

6 mins

Fight or Flight?

Like many of my political persuasion who call the United States home, I have occasionally threatened to leave the country. In the build-up to the Iraq War in the early years of the Bush 2 administration, I regularly threatened to move north to Canada if we invaded Iraq. Lucy and I and our youngest son, ...

6 mins

The D.A.M.N. False Equivalency

I want to talk about a dangerous phenomenon that’s creeping into this year’s presidential election season. It’s insidious, ludicrous and intellectually dishonest; the refuge of cowards and scoundrels and a convenient cop-out for Americans blind to the perils of another Trump presidency. You’ll probably encounter it over the next nine months leading up to Nov. ...

6 mins

Get Happy!

I’ve been having trouble making myself put pen to paper. My reluctance has nothing to do with a lack of things to write about. Options abound. But every possibility I turn over in my head threatens to take me down a very dark road. Not wanting to depress myself or put my readers in a ...

5 mins

MAGA Mike Johnson – WEC Extraordinaire

  Before last week it didn’t much matter that Congressman Mike Johnson was a scary, far-right extremist — an ideological clone of fellow congressman Jim Jordan, without Jordan’s in-your-face demeanor. Johnson’s ultra-conservatism hadn’t attracted much attention because of his obscurity among 434 other members of the House. But now that he’s been elevated to the ...

5 mins

Averting My Eyes

For several reasons, I haven’t felt motivated to write for many weeks. First, there was my biannual move. Every fall I pack up my car, settle my dog into her seat beside me and drive to Louisiana where we’ll spend the next 7 months before returning to Rhode Island in May. Lucy flies down later ...

5 mins

Is Capitalism the Problem?

An opinion piece in The Guardian caught my eye recently. It was entitled “Why was there no water to fight the fire in Maui?” and written by Naomi Klein and a law professor at the Ka Huli Ao Native Hawaiian Law Center. They documented how powerful entities in Maui — plantation owners, developers, luxury resort ...

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