Category Archives: News

Junk Food Planet     As if we needed more bad news about the environment, two new developments show that things are even worse than we thought. You know how climate deniers like to say that the more CO2 in the atmosphere, … Continue reading →

Agent of Chaos     To say the first eight months of the Trump presidency has been a little chaotic, is like saying Hurricane Harvey dropped a little water on Houston. It’s been fairly obvious. Last August CNBC polled some 13,000 business … Continue reading →

Reimagining Great American Literature [Note: Plays are generally considered literature, as they can be read. Film scripts are not, because their primary purpose is a directive for a single filming. That may seem like a distinction without a difference, but … Continue reading →

Freedom of Speech: What It Is, and Isn’t     There’s been a lot of talk lately about freedom of speech, and some confusion about what that really means. To begin with, let’s look at that relevant portion of the First Amendment: … Continue reading →

No Free Mulch! Gardening by Conservative Principles (dedicated to Phil, my own personal Chauncey Gardiner)     Every year I plant a small vegetable garden. It’s just a small patch, 5’ by 15’. It’s more effort than what I get from it, … Continue reading →

This Is Your Brain on Clickbait Click here to continue to article.     It was about 20 years ago that we found out tobacco companies were adding ammonia to their tobacco to increase the prospect of addiction. When it’s smoked, nicotine … Continue reading →

Donald Trump — a Shakespearean Tragedy (This one’s for some friends who really know their Shakespeare: Janet, and Gina & Dennis)     Last spring there was quite the kerfuffle about a Shakespeare in the Park version of Julius Caesar, with a … Continue reading →

Monuments to Oppression: Civil and Uncivil Wars     Mark Twain had been working on a book, but had reached an impasse, and he set it aside for some years. Then on one of his numerous trips down the Mississippi, he had … Continue reading →

Jared Kushner — America’s Crown Prince     He’s the President’s son-in-law, married to his daughter, Ivanka. He’s been put in charge of a whole bunch of stuff, but what do we really know about this shadowy figure who appears in nearly … Continue reading →

Eclipse Over Trumpistan     Astronomy has always been another passion of mine. All those heavenly bodies moving around, and of course we inhabit one of them (for now). It’s like a cosmic dance, the music of the spheres. Of all the … Continue reading →