All That Arises

Well, duh...

2012-01-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

My reaction to the findings of this study.

I'm still here

2012-01-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted on this blog for quite a while, and, looking back several months I note that my posting has become sporadic and increasingly occasional and, frankly, not very interesting. But (mostly because maintaining this blog is free) I'm not quitting, but also not apologizing (much) because the reason for this isn't torpor. I've become engaged in work of a physical nature -- remodeling this

Shame on Lois Capps

2011-12-31T23:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a letter to the editor of the SB NewsPress that I'm sending today. I'll update this post if/when it's published.Update: It was published on January 3, 2012.To the editor:Transparency. We’ve been hearing that word a lot from politicians, including our Congressperson, Lois Capps. Indeed, she uses it in almost every speech she gives, at

Breaking...

2011-12-21T07:47:00.000-08:00

This just in. Why am I not surprised?

For your reading pleasure

2011-12-03T09:31:00.001-08:00

this article about the Republican presidential candidates.

Nader nails it

2011-11-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

In this concise essay, Ralph Nader assails a fundamental error in "free trade" as it is practiced globally. It happens that the economist, Paul Samuelson, whose works Nader discusses, wrote the Econ 101 text that I carried to class at Stanford five decades ago, long before Samuelson saw the light, and so I was taught the mutual benefits of free trade. Fortunately, I flunked Econ 101 and so the

Despair, wretchedness, sadness

2011-11-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

are words that are woefully weak to describe my reaction to this story about the aftermath of our invasion of Iraq.

No shopping today

2011-11-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

Not only did I not buy anything today -- Buy Nothing Day -- I returned to Radio Shack a laptop and accessories (more than $500 worth of merchandise) that I'd bought three weeks before and received a full refund. I didn't need the new computer because my old one hadn't suffered a fatal crash after all, but was simply taking a prolonged rest and woke up last night.

I hate when that happens...

2011-11-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

but no problem: An "inquiry" has been instituted.

Occasionally I regret

2011-11-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

leaving the old profession. Reading this article from the Guardian is one of those times.

Obama, the Republicans' tool

2011-11-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

This essay says it: It's all political theater, and the people aren't the directors.

A psychiatrist analyses Obama

2011-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

A brief capsule, based on Obama's recent appearance on Leno.My reaction: "And they pay you for this?"

What's happening?

2011-10-31T18:07:00.001-07:00

Today, and several days before today, at the checkout counter at a retail store, when I moved my credit card through the store's counter-mounted implement, I understood I was "swiping" my card. I rather liked that term because it was so precisely expressive of the physical action of moving the card through the machine's slot. However, lately I've been hearing the word "slide" to depict that

Support our troops?

2011-10-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well, not all of them.

I'm still here

2011-10-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

I appreciate that it's been quite a while since I last posted on this blog (perhaps the longest gap in my posting since I started this site on August 18, 2003, with a co-blogger, Kyle, who a few months later left this blog to me and maintains his own blogs, Metaphor and Squelch -- see my list of blogs), but the interruption isn't because I've had nothing to say, just that I have nothing to type.

An observation about art

2011-10-09T21:23:00.001-07:00

I suppose I've always known this: Very seldom is a work of art, especially in literature and writing, truly novel. As proof, consider the famous comedic line from the movie, "Young Frankenstein" by Mel Brooks: "Walk this way," spoken by the hunchback Igor to Frankenstein, after which Igor limps away followed by Frankenstein attempting to imitate the limp. Funny, eh? And unique? No, not at all.The

There is a God

2011-10-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

or at least a god: The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees in the American League playoffs to advance to the finals, sending the Yankees home, no longer in contention for a World Series title.

Another bike stolen

2011-10-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

I returned to my condo this evening to see that my bike had been stolen from my carport sometime during the day. It was hidden from the adjacent street but I hadn't locked it because when I ride it locally (as I do often) it feels paranoid to lock it each time I return home. It wasn't a two-thousand dollar bike, but it was a good ride and I like the darned thing. And now it's gone. It's the

Reconstruction in Iraq, American style

2011-10-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

If I hadn't been crying so hard while reading this article about our efforts to rebuild Iraq, I'd have been laughing.

Worst president ever

2011-09-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

Herewith is a letter to the editor of the SB NewsPress that I sent today. I'll update this post if/when it's published.Update: The letter was published on September 24, 2011.Several liberal bloggers and essayists predict that an “Arab spring” will soon come to America: that after three years of Democrats’ (read Obama’s) failures (1) to rein in

Handwriting on the wall

2011-09-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

As long ago as during the months before the general election, Obama revealed himself to be the "political hack" that the McCain campaign termed him. So, why are we progressives surprised at the nature of his governance, to wit, doing anything and everything necessary to be re-elected.

My favorite line from this essay

2011-09-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

about Obama's "jobs" speech is near the end: "Republicans have never had such an effective lackey."

2011-09-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

This morning's Yahoo! News front page is covered with stories about "jobs": Obama's upcoming speech, the Republican candidates' debate, the impact of job loss on all segments of our economy, etc. But the theme of all stories is that Obama must come up with a plan in his speech that solves the problem.What a crock! First of all, a speech isn't going to solve anything. Laws and policies and human

Everything you need to know about our militarist empire

2011-09-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

is found in this excellent interview, that summarizes five important books on the subject.

The digitalized novel

2011-09-05T09:27:00.001-07:00

An interesting, incisive essay about the value of the hardcopy version of long fiction. The significance of the codex form of presentation vs. the serial presentation of the electronic tablet. To this analysis, there's this: If you drop a book on the floor, you can pick it up, leaf to the place you left off and keep reading, no doubt; with a Kindle-like device, maybe not.

Getting the bumper-sticker slogans ready

2011-09-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

After Obama's latest outrage--scrapping EPA's proposed smog regulations--I'm more certain than ever the man doesn't deserve re-election. I've proposed in previous posts the creation of a DOV movement, realizing, however, that he'll doubtless be the Democratic nominee. But at least I can have some fun with this campaign, proposing slogans for the bumpers of Progressives' vehicles. How about these?

Across the pond

2011-09-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

their foreign intelligence leaders seem to be both wiser and, if it needs to be said, of a different gender from ours.

An interesting idea that would deal with two huge American problems

2011-09-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

dealing with the government financial deficit and obesity at the same time.

My favorite television show

2011-09-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

hands down is Big Cat Diary.

An idea whose time has come

2011-08-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

Some months ago (I posted on this blog about it, but because I'm too lazy to tag my blog entries, you'll have to trust me on this) I had the idea of starting a new political party, or at least a new movement, entitled the DOV party, for "disaffected Obama voters." Actually, because the "D" could stand for everything from "disappointed" to "distressed" to "disgruntled" and so on, I reasoned that

A must read

2011-08-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

for anyone who wants to understand Gorbachev, his rise, his fall and his legacy. To me, a monumental and positive force in the last half of the twentieth century, along with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Matt Damon for President

2011-08-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

In case you're keeping track, you heard it here (scroll down a few posts) before you heard it here.

An amendment--an addition--to my previous post

2011-08-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

urging Matt Damon for President ("You heard it here first"), adding Warren Buffet as his running mate.

A movie recommendation

2011-08-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

From director Carol Reed ("The Third Man"), a relatively obscure film, "Odd Man Out," available streaming from Netflix. Fabulous black and white cinematography, street scenes of Belfast in the forties. Throughout the movie, I kept wondering, How'd they do that?

Priceless

2011-08-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Literally so, because George Carlin is dead. Must see video.

You heard it here first

2011-08-12T08:40:00.001-07:00

or maybe second, because I thought of it a week or so ago, but didn't blog about it, then I heard it--a quick suggestion-- on the Rim of Fire program yesterday: Matt Damon for President.

Ya gotta love the Web

2011-08-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

I mean, where else would you find a fabulous site like this? Sure, in the past you could stumble across a book in the library that contained such information, but wouldn't you just leaf through it then put it back on the shelf? Now you can bookmark it and have access to it instantaneously, whenever the mood strikes or the need arises. Amazing. You'd think we'd all be getting smarter with such a

A fine blog

2011-08-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

I don't usually do referrals of blogs, but here's one that strikes my fancy, and it's not just because she apparently likes my novel.

A thoughtful question, and my reply

2011-07-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine--Kyle, who hosts two blogs, Metaphor and Squelch (links below)--emailed me a question after summing up his frustration at the current state of our nation's politics and policies: What would the French and Italians do?http://kylekimberlin.blogspot.com/http://squelch.wordpress.com/Here's what I wrote him back.Kyle, I'm not certain what the French or Italians would do, but

Revised economic figures of US GDP "growth"

2011-07-29T08:19:00.001-07:00

Why don't you tell me something I don't know?

I can't resist

2011-07-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

making this observation: In the Middle East the populace riots for freedom; in Greece they riot over economic austerity; in the US we riot about a deejay's music festival.

The future is here

2011-07-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article on the Internet (can't find the link now) that detailed how our increasing use of the "cloud" to create and store our information renders us more susceptible to commercial and governmental intrusion. I don't (I think I don't, anyway) use the cloud to store much information because I've never trusted that such storage places won't keep my data without being tempted to

Gotta love Santa Barbara

2011-07-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

For several months last year (probably because I'd become addicted to my Netflix rental of BBC's Foyle's War series) I thought I'd like to move to Sussex County, England. It still appeals to me somewhat, actually. But this morning, while I'm grouting my bathroom floor, I've got the British Open golf tournament on television in my bedroom and I just checked out the broadcast from southern England.

A voice in the wilderness

2011-07-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

Kucinich: A succinct statement of what's going on in America.

Delusional

2011-07-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Panetta is flatly out of his mind.

The next chapter in America's downfall

2011-07-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

They already own our indebtedness and our commercial real estate and our jobs. Now they're nibbling away at our houses.

Here we go again

2011-06-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

Another outrageous 5-4 Supreme Court decision, this time striking down Arizona's ground-breaking "clean elections" law that sought to "level the playing field" of funding of candidates so that money couldn't as easily buy elections. Under the guise of First Amendment rhetoric, the Court continues to foster finance over speech, money as the ultimate form of expression.I'm wavering in my desire to

If I watched local television newscasts

2011-06-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'd be strongly opposed to this trend in broadcasting. As it is, local television newscasts come here to Santa Barbara from up north in the Pismo Beach/SLO area, except for one channel (I think there's one) that emanates from SB, and it's so awful I seldom watch it.

Why am I not surprised

2011-06-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

at this latest 5-4 Supreme Court decision.(To be honest, I not only anticipated the result--even the split on the Court--but I felt, as a former class-action lawyer, that the breadth of the class claims, as well as the manageability of the suit were on the outer edge of legal tolerance of the class action device.)

Here's a succinct lay analysis of the legality of Obama's actions in Libya

2011-06-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

Its conclusion is that it's unlikely that anything short of impeachment--which is itself unlikely, of course--will be ineffective to stop this, or future, wars by imperial decree. I happen to agree, grudgingly, with that conclusion, which calls for me to consider whether this nation is still one that I revere. (I've been pondering this ever since the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution handed LBJ unbridled

Orwell rules the airwaves

2011-06-13T22:36:00.000-07:00

Clear Channel's list of unpreferred songs after 9/11/01. Did you know about this?

You're likely aware of this site

2011-06-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

but if not, you're in for a treat. Educational, cute, always entertaining. Enjoy.

Wouldn't it be wonderful

2011-06-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

if this MIT discovery were feasible and effective? (If it progresses, however, I wouldn't give a plug nickel for the lives of the scientists who are developing it. Men in Black--the color of crude--will spirit them away, no doubt.)

Some more news about Africa

2011-06-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

After that article about diminishing wild animals on the African plain (follow the link in my May 31 post) now this.

I disagree with these curators...

2011-06-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

I think the Auschwitz sign should be put back where it can be seen in context and allowed to decay naturally.

Want some really terrible news?

2011-05-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

Check out this story.

I may sound like a constitutional technocrat...

2011-05-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

but why isn't Obama's failure to abide by the War Powers Act with respect to his ordering of US military strikes in Libya an impeachable offense? And, to be fair, his use of force in Libya in the absence of Congressional approval is even "more unconstitutional" that Bush's action in Iraq, given that Bush at least pretended there was a threat to the US from Iraq.Both sides--liberals and

Today's news

2011-05-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

I rarely watch network television news--occasionally PBS News Hour, but even that only seldom--and have become out of touch with what passes for significant reportage in America. This morning, just now, I happened to click on MSNBC's news hour. The lead story: Oprah's last show.Wonderful.

As a former Arizonan,

2011-05-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

here's yet another reason why I'll not move back, ever.

Hapless, hopeless

2011-05-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, today, our weekly peace march along State Street was ugly indeed. We were joined by four women of the Women For Peace group who, rather than engaging in symbolic speech, used the occasion to window shop and chat, while holding their hand-scrawled peace signs at their hips so as not to block their view of the shop displays or hinder their personal conversations. No wonder

What did we expect?

2011-04-28T09:14:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court, 5-4 (and you know who's in the majority) rules that class-action status can be defeated by the company's requirement that consumers sign an individual-arbitration clause as part of their purchase agreement. A death-knell to mass-consumer class actions.And the corporatist beat goes on...

Another ditty--about politics in general.

2011-04-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

When I learned PoliSci in my youth The Right in Congress behaved with couth. They’d debate with vigor, speak their truth, Spar with Demos, nail and tooth. (But then, as friends, share gin/vermouth.) Rancor, if it flared, was fleeting, Seldom lasting past a meeting. No hint, no possibility of cheating, Not by Dirksen, Ford or

Chris Hedges is the man.

2011-04-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, to be politically correct, he's the person. Check out his most recent speech. (Text and video are available at the link.)

This story says it all

2011-04-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

The US postage stamp with the image of the Statue of Liberty taken from a photo of a Las Vegas casino replica.

A ditty about nukes and tsunamis and such

2011-04-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

Central Coast Dilemma(This doggerel was published in the SB Independent on Thursday, April 14, 2011) Fukushima makes one wonderWas Diablo Canyon a mere blunder, Built on fissures three miles under, Likely soon to tear asunder? South along the tidal reach, Avila, Grover, Pismo Beach, Folks sip wine and nosh on quiche, Warier now

A worthy quote

2011-04-02T00:06:00.000-07:00

from on old murder mystery I heard on BBC radio: "Facts are like cows: If you look at them them straight away long enough, they'll go away."

In case you ever doubted it

2011-03-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Geithner has got to go.

The arrogance of power

2011-03-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a letter to the editor of the SB News-Press that I sent today. I'll update this post when/if it's published.Update: The letter was published on April 6, 2011.American missiles flying, fighters firing rockets, causing explosions and destruction on the ground and in the air. In every sense—under international law, domestic law, the UN

A trick question

2011-03-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Which of these stories troubles me more?: This or this.Answer: Both

Good news!

2011-03-20T02:17:00.001-07:00

At least this one American business isn't outsourceable--yet--and it's thriving!

Faux news redux

2011-03-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

They simply should not be allowed on our public airwaves. Not when they pull stunts like this.

Letter to the editor

2011-02-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

On February 21, 2011, I wrote another of my letters to the editor of the SB NewsPress. It was published today (Sunday, 2/27). It readsWhen was the last time we heard that anything positive was happening in America (except, of course, the ever-increasing salaries and bonuses of Wall Streeters).Jobs? In the tank. Bankruptcies and foreclosures? On the rise. Working-class wages and the dollar?

The dark side of cyber-citizenry

2011-02-26T09:13:00.000-08:00

is astroturfing by groups, but even more so by corporations and the US military. Outrageous--but inevitable in our evil world.

Faux News

2011-02-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

Literally. (Video)

Interesting interview

2011-02-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

especially on topics that concern me most: How to write meaningfully about meaningful subjects, and how to make story tell more than story.

Do you want fries with that?

2011-01-31T22:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a shocking---shocking--story about the wage level of those jobs that America is creating in the wake of the recent huge bubble-burst. Imagine my surprise.

Sometimes you wonder

2011-01-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

who in their right mind would do this (video)and then you realize, he's not in his right mind.

Rethinking America's foreign policy

2011-01-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

It seems to me that we (I include myself in this) Americans need to pause and reflect upon the individuality of our fellow humans. (A vague, ugly sentence, I know.) What I mean is this: We are a world of individuals, not, as is so often assumed, a bunch of nations filled with folks who have adopted that nation's persona, as depicted in the media and by our governers. Of course we Americans know

If you want to know where I stand on Obama and "liberals"

2011-01-24T13:13:00.001-08:00

check out these two articles that appeared today: One is by a mainstay of mine, Chris Hedges, on Truthdig, and the other by a fabulous thinker/writer Michael Brenner who, in his HuffPost article, describes present-day "progressive Democrats" as "the kind of people that your mother wanted you to hang out with in high school -- short of Canadian exchange students being available."

For those of you who are familiar with my novel, Gaviota

2011-01-16T09:57:00.001-08:00

here's a website that argues--as did my protagonist in that novel--in favor of "jury nullification" as a means of ensuring truly populist justice in criminal trials. The Wikileaks founder would surely need such a doctrine to obtain a fair adjudication if he were to stand trial in the US on some technical violation of our manifold secrecy laws.

A new political movement, or even a party?

2011-01-12T00:49:00.000-08:00

What about a movement of those of us who supported Obama in 2008 but are no longer enamored of him, even to the point of rebellion? We could call ourselves Disaffected Obama Voters. Get it?: the DOV movement.

In case you're wondering....

2010-12-30T10:17:00.000-08:00

I'm still here, but without anything to say. Anything worth blogging about, that is. Maybe that will change and if so, I'll let you know.

On language

2010-12-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting piece on the difference between English words that are French/Latin based and those that are German based. I've always wondered why my lawyer-talk never got me laid.

Galbraith rocks

2010-12-09T20:54:00.000-08:00

And he's from a university in Texas, of all places.

Talk about prescience

2010-12-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

He was twenty-four years early, but Orwell was spot on.

Do you want to see genius at work?

2010-12-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

Check out the pdf. file of Franklin Roosevelt's interlineations on the first draft of his address to Congress on December 8 seeking its declaration of war against Japan. Not just his inclusion of "infamy" in place of "history" in the first sentence--a history-changing alteration--but the revisions of tenor and insertions of urgency throughout.Amazing skills, both political and oratorical,

Letter to the editor

2010-12-06T05:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the text of a letter to the editor of the SB NewsPress that I sent today. I'll update this post with the publication date if it's published.Update: The letter was published on December 9, 2010.The first amendment to the United States Constitution grants the “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” In view of this fundamental

Ya know, there are some civil rights issues I just can't get fired up about

2010-12-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

and this is one.

Action, or futility?

2010-11-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

Leftist activists--including Chris Hedges--are going to chain themselves to the fence at the White House on December 16 to protest the ongoing wars and occupations of the US. Effective? Meaningless? An act simply to vent the frustrating hopelessness of protest? A bit of each of the above?

At what point does one's blood boil?

2010-11-25T05:02:00.000-08:00

Perhaps upon reading this article in the NYT?

Here are two related hypotheses about Obama's maltreatment of progressives

2010-11-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

Related: We're in denial about Obama's true position because we can't face that he's not now and never has been progressive; and/or what he says is subject to the McGurk Effect, so that during his campaign his transformative image caused us to receive from his lips the message we wanted to hear rather than the meaning he spoke.

Economic analysis

2010-11-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

Look, I nearly flunked Econ I at Stanford but I nevertheless feel I have good instincts about the subject. However, that's all I claim: instinct. And although I've long thought of myself as a "liberal," I've recently felt misgivings about a central tenet of Paul Krugman's solution to the present stagnated American economy, chief among them is his strong reliance on increased "consumption" as our

A choice, not an Obama

2010-11-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a letter to the editor of the SB NewsPress that I sent today. I'll update this post when/if it's published.Update: The letter was published in the NewsPress on Saturday, November 13, 2010.Obama will be a one-term president. Oh, he’ll survive incessant nagging from the Right for the next two years, but in 2012 he’ll be “one and done,” no question. And as a progressive who worked mightily

Too good to be true

2010-11-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this news item from the Guardian appear to be from the Onion instead?

The Real News

2010-11-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

A worthwhile site, source of this incisive video in which the Democrats and Obama squandered the mandate they carried into 2009.

I'm not sure why, but for some reason

2010-11-01T02:04:00.000-07:00

(and I think it's perverse) this bit of news made me LOL. Maybe I was imagining how some folks would react if it happened in the US.

Well, whaddaya know...

2010-10-26T11:37:00.001-07:00

The law of the land even applies in Arizona. (Note who--an Arizonan, former US Supreme Court Justice--voted with the majority.)

Out of Afghanistan in my lifetime?

2010-10-22T03:41:00.001-07:00

Fuggedaboudit. Check out the construction of military installations throughout that country, presently underway and proposed. Incompatible with our withdrawal from Afghanistan anytime soon? Ubetcha. Obama, aren't you commander in chief of the armed forces?

I take it all back.

2010-10-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

This video alone justifies the existence of the personal computer, the Internet, YouTube and all such devices.P.S. You don't have to be a Gilbert and Sullivan fan to enjoy this.

So much for moving to Sweden

2010-10-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

What a revoltin' development this is.