My daughter Abigail wrote this today. * * * * * I root myself to the ground. I will not give in to fear. Last night my thirteen-year-old attended his first confirmation class, during which they discussed the murders in Pittsburgh. “There are people who really, really hate Jews, Mom. It […]
Category Archives: Politics
These Magic Kids
April 13, 2018 – 12:40 pm
I haven’t blogged in a long while. I haven’t anything to say that I thought was important. But here’s something from someone who does. It’s an essay by Michael Tallon, published late last month. It’s about the Parkland teenagers. Like Mr. Tallon, I’ve been amazed by these kids. But he has an explanation. * […]
Guns: Be Like Australia
October 4, 2017 – 12:17 pm
(I posted this in 2016. In the hideous aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, it demands reposting today.) The following article, reposted in its entirety from the Sydney Morning Herald (June 16, 2016), was written by Aubrey Perry, a Melbourne-based writer and artist who is originally from the United States. Her words are heartfelt. I could […]
HR 158: A Betrayal of Iranian Americans
January 9, 2016 – 3:26 pm
The following op ed, written by Kamran Azmoudeh, a local dentist, was printed in my daily paper, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, on January 8, 2016. It’s worth reading…and re-posting. * * * * * The war on terror and ISIS in particular has hit home in Santa Rosa. Its effects have […]
Vetting the Candidates
June 14, 2015 – 12:27 pm
“Has she been thoroughly vetted?” they ask. It’s an apt question. But do they know what the word actually means?
Guns, Evil, and Insanity
December 17, 2012 – 1:03 pm
After the Newtown tragedy, Connecticut’s Gov. Dan Malloy said, “Evil visited this community today.” But Adam Lanza was not evil. He was insane. Beyond this obvious assertion, I have nothing special or unique to add. But two women do. One is my daughter, Julia Quinn, a wise and caring individual. The other is Liza Long, […]
North Korean Unicorns: Lost in Translation?
December 3, 2012 – 3:31 pm
Last week, the official North Korean news agency (KNCA) released a report stating: “Archaeologists of the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences have recently reconfirmed a lair of the unicorn rode by King Tongmyong, founder of the Koguryo Kingdom (B.C. 277-A.D. 668).” The Western press took this as another in the continuing […]
Dixville Notch: The First Voters
October 21, 2012 – 9:49 am
New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primaries since 1920. With the first presidential “beauty contest” in 1952, our citizens have personally met the candidates and by popular ballot have declared their preference for their party’s nominee. Since 1960, Dixville has been the first community in the state and country to cast its handful of […]
Too Big to Fail? Or Too Big to Exist? [Redux]
May 24, 2012 – 12:43 pm
In light of the recent JPMorgan Chase $3B trading loss and the unrestrained chaos that was the Facebook IPO, I am republishing a blog post from 3/7/09. Over three years have passed…and it appears no lessons have been learned. What was trenchant then is just as relevant today. * * * * * AIG is […]
The Market Falls–Then and Now
August 5, 2011 – 4:13 pm
I glance at the headline of an old newspaper that had been used to insulate one of the old log cabins that make up the museum in Frisco, CO. “Bankers Blame Tax Laws for Securities Drop” (The Denver Post…November 7, 1937). The Great Depression had been ongoing for over eight years. Yesterday the Dow fell […]
