Author Archives: editor, facilitator, decider

About editor, facilitator, decider

Doesn't know much about culture, but knows when it's going to hell in a handbasket.

Gerry Mander for president

It’s hard to say exactly when American democracy died. But June 27th, 2019 might be remembered as the day the U.S. Supreme Court drove a stake in its chest to make damned sure it stayed dead. In an ideologically split, … Continue reading

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Here come the Deepfakes

At some point, the onward trudge of technology has taken on more of a steamroll presentation, and much of the nextgen whatever-it-is brings far less progress to society and much more churn. It’s like the rote Silicon Valley diktat, “disrupt … Continue reading

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For the arts – challenge yourself

How about this? Hats off to artist Denise Cerro and her band of merry creators, for their revolving assemblage challenge (and many bonus points awarded for their use of recycled materials). Does this not inspire? You don’t have to think … Continue reading

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In memoriam: General George S. Patton

Since 2011, this site has observed Memorial Day by saluting the ordinary yet heroic soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who served and sacrificed, and died for their country. It must be said though that many of our heroic dead were, … Continue reading

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To impeach, or not to impeach?

Are we barreling toward the impeachment of a president? Should we be? Impeachment is, as intended in our constitutional charter, the heavy artillery of checks and balances. It’s an unwieldy process by design: a simple majority vote in the House … Continue reading

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RIP Tim Conway (Dec. 15 1933 – May 14 2019)

. This one hurts. Tim Conway hailed from my neck of the woods, got his start on local TV, and was a fixture on the comedy and variety shows that anchored TV in the seventies and eighties. He was one … Continue reading

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RIP Doris Day (April 3 1922 – May 13 2019)

A genuine legend passed away today. Doris Day died at home in California, aged 97 years, having recently suffered a serious case of pneumonia. Singer, actor, activist—she was not only one of our last veterans of Hollywood’s golden years, she … Continue reading

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No clean hands: the Bill Barr mess

One of the most important legal precedents in American political history is the United States v. John N. Mitchell. In the aftermath of Watergate, our 67th Attorney General was charged, tried, and found guilty of perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of … Continue reading

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Social-media dead to outnumber the living by 2070

Is there anyone dead on your friends list? It’s a little unsettling, isn’t it? The profiles just abide out there, zombie-like, occasionally generating macabre birthday notices and the like. In especially tragic cases, their walls take on the temporary status … Continue reading

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Election 2020 – let the handicapping begin

It’s never too early for electoral predictions, and the 2020 presidential election is just 19 months away. Let’s go on the record with a Deconstruction of political prognostications…. While most are keeping a sharp eye on the bloated slate of … Continue reading

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C’est une tragédie

What a heart-wrenching loss for Paris, for France, and for the world.

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Gaze long into this abyss

For the first time ever, we have a picture of a black hole. Behold the supermassive space-time phenomenon that lies at the heart of galaxy M87, 55 million light-years from earth. The image was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope, … Continue reading

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Here’s what’s going on

I said hey. What’s going on?

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The art of eternal employment

Lifetime guaranteed employment sounds like a concept from an earlier age, or perhaps something that never existed at all. How about eternal, self-perpetuating employment? Economists can argue whether such a thing could ever be possible (economists argue about everything, you … Continue reading

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When the going gets tough, the snowflakes sue

It’s really quite impressive how many of us can go around with a copy of the U.S. Constitution in our hip pocket, yet still have no idea what it does and does not say. Case in point: artist and Trump … Continue reading

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