Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
FEBRUARY 9, 2021 – Yesterday I had a long phone conversation with a West Coast lawyer-friend with whom I’d long been out of touch. We caught up on personal news, talked about land conservation—the subject over which we’d met years ago—and inevitably, politics. He shared my relief that normalcy, decency, and rationality have returned to …
FEBRUARY 2, 2021 – When I saw images of the goons invading the Capitol on January 6, I couldn’t imagine having anything in common with them. Ditto the man on whose account and upon whose instigation they’d staged their rage. (I don’t even golf.) My disdain for them is cut and dried. Hold them fully …
FEBRUARY 1, 2021 – On Saturday I enjoyed an overdue telephone conversation with my good friend Derek, a 35-year old graphic designer from L.A. By the close of our talk, enrichment outweighed regret for not having talked since May. I met Derek two years ago at our co-working space in downtown Minneapolis. He worked for …
JANUARY 29, 2021 – I remember old times when The National Enquirer was standard fare at the check-out counter of every grocery store. Above the candy, the tabloid’s front page screamed something crazy like, ALIENS INVADE CHURCH IN TULSA or GRANDMOTHER GIVES BIRTH TO TWO-HEADED ARMADILLO. My reaction was never, “Really?” It was, “How does …
JANUARY 26, 2021 – Okay, here I am on a cold Tuesday morning in January, minding my own business, meaning, “working furiously on client matter,” when I catch a break—having just slammed the tennis ball over the net and forcing my opponent (Paul) to chase after the now runaway spheroid. In the few spare seconds …
JANUARY 24, 2021 – With our month-long house guests’ (son/daughter-in-law) departure Friday, so went nightly card games, lively banter, and scintillating conversation. “We’ll have to find a show to watch,” I said to my wife. Yesterday evening we designated . . . Designated Survivor and binge-watched four episodes. For story line(s), writing, acting, directing, casting, …
JANUARY 23, 2021 – Interpreting history—or current events—is dicey. You can’t approach past or present wholly free of your own bias complex, constructed from your upbringing, education, disposition, intelligence, personal experiences, religious beliefs (or absence thereof), and cultural influences. Nor, of course, can the historian or journalist be free of her or his bias complex. …
JANUARY 21, 2021 – Yesterday with you I watched President Biden’s inaugural speech and the stellar performances that followed, most notably, Amanda Gorman’s recitation of her poem, The Hill We Climb. Not to be moved by such heart and soul is to be bereft of both. As I observed the proceedings, I felt as though …
JANUARY 20, 2021 – When I was an immature teenager (as opposed to an immature geezer), my immature friends and I applied a disrespectful nickname to one of our high school dorm counselors. The guy’s last name was “Bliss,” so we called him, “Ignorance Is” for short—or rather, for long. We considered this clever—nearly as …
JANUARY 19, 2021 – This morning CNN online carried an article about a growing movement questioning unbridled free speech. The timing of the piece was triggered by Big Tech efforts to quell in the aftermath of the Storming of the Capitol, the propagation of nonsense by the master and his misguided followers. While I applaud …
JANUARY 16, 2021 – To compensate for the cold water—er, beer—I poured on readers yesterday, this post provides warm cocoa. On Thursday, I received a call from Carol, a second cousin on my mother’s side. Our great-grandfather was George B. Holman, mover and shaker of his day—founder of a thriving moving and storage business. Carol …
JANUARY 15, 2021 – On Wednesday I watched about a half hour of the House impeachment “debate.” All the talk can be summarized this way: PRO IMPEACHMENT: “Trump shot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue—I mean, the Capitol!!! Get him OFF. THE. STREET!—before he shoots us all.” ANTI-IMPEACHMENT: “First, Glory-to-God. (!) Second, you Democrats …
JANUARY 11, 2021 – Yesterday I visited a website so crazy I won’t name it. It’s devoted full flush to Trumpian authoritarianism; an infinity mirror of rants. The experience felt like a voyage to hell aboard a ship with certain crew and passengers drilling holes through the bottom of the hull. Before swimming with sharks, …
JANUARY 10, 2021 – Remember the good ol’ days when the story of the week was Trump’s “perfect phone call”? Oh, what we’d give to have our outrage confined to that! I guess I have to qualify “our outrage.” If you weren’t outraged by Trump’s ham-fisted attempt to extort a foreign leader to feed naked …
JANUARY 9, 2021 – As we Democrats and democrats view more images of Wednesday’s capitol rampage, we heighten our condemnation of Trumpublicans. They unleashed dark forces, then licensed the assault on democracy. But it’s important to consider what came first—chicken or egg; chicken-poop (Republicans in Congress) or the T. Rex (white supremacy/conspiracy theorists) egg? The …
JANUARY 8, 2021 – Trump was absolutely right about something: If I voted for Democrats, there’d be a breakdown of law and order—inside the Capitol Building, no less. In part I find relief in seeing that the mob was as motley as they were. Put less charitably but more precisely, I’m relieved that they were …
JANUARY 7, 2021 – When poop hit the fan yesterday, I was in the dentist’s chair, looking at the TV screen affixed to the ceiling. The hygienist—in full riot gear—peered down at my gaping mouth. CNN played above. Five minutes into my appointment all hell broke loose . . . on the TV screen. “Uh!” …
JANUARY 6, 2020 – To function successfully, a democracy requires a foundation of many supporting stones—a well- informed public, established rule of law, majority rule, minority rights . . . for starters. But the cornerstones of democracy are (1) free and fair elections; and (2) losers respecting results. Since November, the Naked Emperor has been …
JANUARY 5, 2021 – Our five-year-old granddaughter loves doing puzzles when she visits. She also likes Northwoods nature. There’ll come a day, I’m sure, a decade from now, when I’ll find Illiana sitting on the bench swing up at the lake, admiring the panoramic view. More accurately, I’ll assume she’s admiring the scenery as I …
JANUARY 4, 2021 – Four days into 2021 and the craziness continues: Naked Emperor twisting the arms off democracy to a groundswell of Republican cheers. This assault is nothing new for the Party of Trump, for which raw power is the sole objective. On one hand, I’m as disgusted as any democrat and every Democrat. …
DECEMBER 18, 2020 – Trump’s presidency revealed that “expertise” is essential. This doesn’t mean that experts are infallible. They err and fail, as when a plane—or market—crashes. But modern society and all hope of advancement would soon collapse altogether without experts. Given the impact of governmental policy, both political and topical expertise are essential in …
DECEMBER 17, 2020 – Those of us who believe in American democracy have long been outraged at Senate Republicans. How could they line up so shamelessly behind the Con Man who stole, then trashed their party and (former) ideals? Harangue, harangue! Here’s the good news: American democracy is alive and well. And here’s the bad …
DECEMBER 13, 2020 – Today’s Times tells about yesterday’s pro-Trump demonstrations protesting the “stolen” election. The continuing defiance follows the Supreme Court’s “thumbs downs” rejection of Trump’s last-gasp effort to reverse reality. One protester, a woman from Jacksonville, said “God told her” to drive to Atlanta to join the pro-Trump protest there and said she …
DECEMBER 11, 2020 – After a week of solitude and natural beauty that surround me in the Northwoods, I’m about to relinquish occupancy of the Red Cabin to our son and daughter-in-law who arrive later this weekend from New York. They’ll quarantine here until Christmas so that our family can celebrate together safely. I’ve hung …
DECEMBER 7, 2020 – If you’re a Boomer, just try getting your head wrapped around this: the youngest American WW II veteran is 93. If you’re younger than a Boomer, you probably consign WW II to ancient history, right back there with the Civil War or . . . the Peloponnesian War. By the time …