3 ways politicians differ from real people

Politicians behave abnormally in many ways, and I care about three of them.
I noticed Tim Bee illustrating two of these ways as I watched one of his campaign advertisements this morning. He was being real critical of Gabrielle Giffords. Now, it’s not just Tim Bee doing this. Senator McCain often speaks viciously of Senator Obama. [...]

Read Full Post »

Friends, family, a walk in the woods

I don’t know if we gravitate these days to people who revere simple things in life. My heroes in the praise of simple things include Charles Kuralt and E. B. White. I also cherish Garrison Keillor’s stories about the mythical town of Lake Woebegon where church choirs and a flat green lawn on a summer [...]

Read Full Post »

Don’t touch that poll with a 10 foot pole

When I was a kid it was common to hear people say of something distasteful that they wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. That’s pretty much how I feel about polls. I want to stay at least 10 feet away.
My local National Public Radio station carried a story yesterday about the current state of [...]

Read Full Post »

My 50 year plan for world peace

A short time ago I wrote a plan for world peace, and over lunch last Sunday at Beyond Bread my friend and yoga teacher, Bruce Bowditch, encouraged me to post it to my web site. So I did. It’s very easy for people I trust to influence me.
The plan assumes that the task, if properly coordinated, staged, and [...]

Read Full Post »

My picks for Halloween flicks

If you are not going trick or treating this year and want to hunker down in front of the television instead, and you just happen to be wondering what to watch, I have some favorites to share with you. Click here to see my choices!
What are your favorites?

Read Full Post »

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president during a recent interview on MSNBC. You can access the video on The New York Times web site by clcking the link.
True to his nature he spoke respectfully of both candidates, and he based all of his arguments on the broader principles that support the common [...]

Read Full Post »

Another man’s poison

There is an old aphorism that says “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” The phrase has been famous for a long time. In 1942 E. B. White published a collection of his essays under the title One Man’s Meat. I don’t know if there is a text-message abbreviation of the old saying or not, or if [...]

Read Full Post »

Are we the new Mayans?

I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.” —E.B. White, “Coon Tree”, The Essays of E.B. White.
The Mayan civilization prospered in Central America for centuries, and then crumbled.  The best known “fact” [...]

Read Full Post »

Getting propositioned in Arizona

Preparing to vote on propositions is hard work. The propositions are usually written to confuse the reader, and the rhetoric for and against often gets so heated that it simply adds to the confusion by introducing sarcasm, bitterness, and downright meanness. However, I feel compelled to cast a vote that is informed by research and [...]

Read Full Post »

I can eat 50 eggs!

In the classic 1967 movie, Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman’s character, Luke Jackson, boasts that he can eat 50 eggs. His purpose was to express his defiance, and to inspire his fellow prisoners with his bravado. The movie is best remembered for the line, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
I feel like [...]

Read Full Post »