The Associated Press has decided to capitalize Black. They are finally acknowledging that “the lowercase black is a color, not a person.” But the change is not only practical, it’s political, based on “the need to be inclusive and respectful in our storytelling and the evolution of... Read More
I grew up Catholic. Every morning, rain or shine, the Franciscan nuns at St. John’s Catholic elementary school lined us up two abreast and marched us over to St. John’s church at the end of the block, where we experienced—each in our own way, I suppose—the mass. My experience was not deep;... Read More
What I want for Trump is much simpler than impeachment: I want to see his approval rating fall to the low twenties, then to the teens. The low teens. I want to see him repudiated by America, and especially by the nearly half of voting Americans who thought, despite all evidence to the contrary,... Read More
How close are we to nuclear war? Really? It’s September 2017, and we seem to be in the middle of a classic conflict spiral with North Korea that, without heroic intervention, will end up where conflict spirals usually end up: war. It’s disheartening to find myself hoping the other side will... Read More
It was confirmed yesterday: we live in one of those neighborhoods where neighbors—grown, adult neighbors—get into fistfights. Perhaps it was a once-in-a-decade event, but it has somewhat darkened my view of the neighborhood. Particularly after Bellevue. Peaceful Bellevue. There, people didn’t... Read More
“The last common grandmother of humans and chimpanzees lived six million years ago.” I like that statement, and I believe it. Don’t we all believe things we like, things we want to believe? I like the idea that I’m closely related to chimpanzees. It reinforces my worldview, my makeshift... Read More
The other day we were driving up to Sequim and saw one of those guys along the side of the road who twirl the signs, usually advertisements for a mattress or furniture sale. This guy’s sign said “Cheap Weed.” It reminded me that marijuana is just another commodity here. It also reminded me of... Read More
I recently came across Dorothy Thompson’s 1941 Harper’s piece, “Who Goes Nazi?” In it she describes a party game in which you look around the room and decide who at the party would embrace Nazism in America. Thompson had been a correspondent in Germany during the 1920s and 30s before being... Read More
Facebook post to a “political discussion group” a week or two into Trump’s presidency: “Hey, I’ve been checking in occasionally without participating, but I have a question. What do you think about President Trump’s constant lying? Is it important or unimportant? We’ve seen him lie... Read More
I dreamed last night that President Obama was at our house doing handyman work. He wore the dark suit and tie, looking presidential, but he was building something. He had run out of nails, so I was collecting old ones and cleaning them up for him. He opened a trap door in the yard and scrounged... Read More
