The only antidote to destruction is creation. Stephen Nachmanovitch The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. Albert Einstein These times of massive change create understandable and often intense insecurities in us. The ongoing destabilization of … [Read more...] about What’s Creativity Got to Do with It in 2019?
Top 10 Comedic News Stories of 2018
Raging Moderate by Will Durst Sit the kids down. Let the dogs out. Prop the grandparents up. The nation's patience has been richly rewarded, because the eagerly awaited list of the Top Ten Comedic News Stories of 2018 has been officially released. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year. But first a caution: please do not confuse this list with the top ten … [Read more...] about Top 10 Comedic News Stories of 2018
Rightist Bolsonaro takes office in Brazil, promising populist change to angry voters
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro after his swearing-in on Jan. 1, 2019, in the capital of Brasilia. AP Photo/Andre Penner Benjamin H. Bradlow, Brown University Brazil’s new president, who took power on Jan. 1, is often called the “Trump of the Tropics” for his law-and-order rhetoric, racist and sexist remarks, pro-business stances and outsider … [Read more...] about Rightist Bolsonaro takes office in Brazil, promising populist change to angry voters
Trump’s wall is a symbol of ruin
by Michael Gerson Washington Post Writers Group Columnist WASHINGTON -- Republicans used to shut down the federal government with the intention (generally) of curbing public spending. Donald Trump's GOP, in contrast, shuts down the federal government with the goal of constructing a continent-long wall of dubious utility that will require (by one estimate) three times the … [Read more...] about Trump’s wall is a symbol of ruin
The Democratic jockeying begins
WASHINGTON -- It has begun. The field of candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination is starting to form, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., announcing Monday that she has launched a campaign "exploratory committee" -- the same step that former housing and urban development secretary Julian Castro took earlier in December. Spoiler alert: Exploratory … [Read more...] about The Democratic jockeying begins
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a temper tantrum.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't officially a member of Congress yet, and she is already having a temper tantrum. From The Hill, 31 December 2018: Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is ripping her fellow Democrats for failing to take up her proposed special climate change committee called the Green New Deal because it was deemed "too controversial." Ocasio-Cortez in a … [Read more...] about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a temper tantrum.
A ‘Kakizome’ for the New Year
As most writers (in my own case, I use that term loosely), I have been racking my brain as to what to write about in my first – and by default or by definition, the best – writing of the New Year. Japanese culture takes such “first writings” to a whole new level. During Oshogatsu - Japanese New Year – Japanese people participate in the tradition of writing auspicious wishes, … [Read more...] about A ‘Kakizome’ for the New Year
Cartoon: Happy Baby New Year
LeBron James has much to learn about Jews
–First in a series– By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The “secret” is out. According to the bigots, the Jews control the world! We own the media! Politicians do our bidding! The Jews “control” Wall Street! Have you heard about the old joke concerning two Jews who were dining at a Vienna café in the 1930s. One of them is reading the Yiddish … [Read more...] about LeBron James has much to learn about Jews
Here’s How Inventory Management Can Benefit the Construction Industry
Inventory management is a phrase that you hear in nearly every industry, from manufacturing to medicine and everything in between. One sector where the sentence is surprisingly absent is construction. How can the construction industry benefit from inventory management, and what changes can managers and supervisors make to improve inventory on their jobsites? Inventory … [Read more...] about Here’s How Inventory Management Can Benefit the Construction Industry
The roots of the new nationalism
WASHINGTON -- In affluent neighborhoods around Washington, New York and Los Angeles -- and, for that matter, Paris, London and Berlin -- it's common to denounce nationalism, to disdain supposedly mindless, angry populists, and to praise those with an open-minded, cosmopolitan outlook. Note that those involved are praising themselves. Lord knows, there is much to fear about … [Read more...] about The roots of the new nationalism
Another Adult Leaves the Trump Administration
Update III: Retired Rear Admiral Kevin Sweeney has resigned as Department of Defense Chief of Staff after serving former Defense Secretary James Mattis for two years. Brent Colburn, a senior Pentagon official under President Obama, explains why it matters: In normal times, the resignation of a chief of staff following the departure of a secretary of defense would … [Read more...] about Another Adult Leaves the Trump Administration
Can’t Democrats and Republicans just get along?
Can't Democrats and Republicans just get along? That question is asked by plenty of exasperated Americans who haven't made politics their de facto religion. In another blog post, this blogger states, "When Americans take in what the media have to say about politics, the former get doses of Crazy-vs-Crazy. It is enough to make a sane American want to have what Kermit … [Read more...] about Can’t Democrats and Republicans just get along?
Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Trump and The Wall
OF RELATED INTEREST: --Trump is using the deaths of two migrant children to push for his border wall --How Democrats can drive a hard bargain over the wall --Kelly, on His Way Out, Says Administration Long Ago Abandoned Idea of Concrete Wall Mike Peters is recognized as one of our nation’s most prominent cartoon artists for his outstanding work as both a political and … [Read more...] about Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Trump and The Wall
Humoring the Headlines (Satire)
(This is is reprinted from San Diego Jewish World which was on hiatus for a few months so it's a collection of several months of funny takes on the news by Laurie Baron) by Laurie Baron March Betsy Devos released a music video to support Donald Trump’s plan to arm teachers: School days, school days, they have become such cruel days. ‘Reading and ‘riting and … [Read more...] about Humoring the Headlines (Satire)
Yes, there is a war between science and religion
Doubting Thomas needed the proof, just like a scientist, and now is a cautionary Biblical example. Caravaggio/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY Jerry Coyne, University of Chicago As the West becomes more and more secular, and the discoveries of evolutionary biology and cosmology shrink the boundaries of faith, the claims that science and religion are … [Read more...] about Yes, there is a war between science and religion
Are Republicans Finally Smelling the Trumpster Fire?
Did my ears deceive me? Did I actually hear Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republicans and one of Trump's infamous abetters, actually warn us that the president is a clear and present danger to our national security? In so many words, yes. And it's about time. Maybe, just maybe, the Republicans in Washington - most notably, the Senate Republicans who might be tasked with voting … [Read more...] about Are Republicans Finally Smelling the Trumpster Fire?
How Trump and Brexit united Europe
Emanuel Deutschmann, European University Institute and Lara Minkus, Universität Bremen Europeans across the English Channel are nervously watching Britain’s debate over Brexit, fearful of what the United Kingdom’s divorce from the European Union will mean for their decades-old economic and political bloc. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Dec. 11 delayed a … [Read more...] about How Trump and Brexit united Europe
Cartoon: The Wall
THE MOUSETRAP
What we have been watching for the last 3 years has been a sort of post-modern presentation of Shakespeare. We’ve had treachery, greed, unquenchable narcissism, and a degree of Theater of the Absurd not seen since Saturday Night Live’s, Stefon, and his description of celebrities you can see at New York’s hottest clubs such as: “Blingo (Black Ringo), Jewish Dracula Sidney … [Read more...] about THE MOUSETRAP