No Kings Day – Convergence, Divergence Religious awakenings or revivals often coincide with and sometimes bolster authoritarian political leadership and concentrated business power. The Founders of our early Republic, especially Jefferson and Madison, argued...

  One of the advantages of being an author is the opportunity to exchange books with other authors. I recently exchanged my new book of short stories, Pieces of Time (exclusively available at Gallery Books in Mendocino for now) with Alison Gardener's The Wild Mushroom...

 This is a short post inspired by the recent meeting between Secretary of Defense Hegseth, President Trump and top military officers. There seems to be a push by this administration back toward a more muscular, male military. This is odd in the modern warfare world...

 My mother did more for me than I can even imagine. Every day I wish she were here so I could tell her something she did that made my life better. High on the list would be that she read to me every day. Some of my earliest memories are of her, book in hand, reading...

   The first physics experiment I was assigned in my college physics class was to divide white light into its spectrum, something Newton did three hundred years ago. Nearly two hundred years later Goethe published his Theory of Colors that discussed light in terms of...

 I don't watch late night television. I'm 79. I can't stay awake. It's true that I "think in the morning" and by the time most late night shows come on, I'm in bed. I'll also admit (mea culpa) that I'm not a great comedy fan although I did like Johnny Carson in his...

   I serendipitously watched The Penguin Lessons recently. The movie is based on a true story by Tom Mitchell (The Penguin Lessons: What I Learned From A Remarkable Bird). The movie is particularly relevant in today's America. Metaphor plays a central role is...

 When I studied economics (a lifetime ago), I actually read The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money by John Maynard Keynes. Keynes' theories have dominated economics ever since. Yes, there have been many competitors and new iterations of Keynes'...

  People’s choice of words can be revealing. That’s certainly the case with respect to one of Donald Trump’s favorite slogans, “America First.”In April 2016, Trump initially used the term in a campaign speech, proclaiming that “America First” would be “the major and...

  Tom Nichols recent article in The Atlantic, The World No Longer Takes Trump Seriously, is seriously good. He points out how Putin humiliated Trump by showing "no interest in negotiation" and declined "a carefully planned lunch" then flew home and increased his...

 Economist warns Trump family's $5B crypto empire could trigger ‘grifter bailout’ - TheStree Crypto: Bitcoin and cryptocurrency news, advice, analysis and more(Trump Family Amasses $5 Billion Fortune After Crypto Launch - WSJ) According to historical records, the...

 Neil Young released a new song, “Big Crime,” criticizing Donald Trump and his administration. The song, recorded during a sound check in Chicago, features Young’s backing band the Chrome Hearts and includes lyrics about Trump’s legal troubles and his use of the term...