6 years ago I joined the Sierra Club, and am a member of the Executive Committee of my local group.  As an active member of probably the oldest nationwide conservation organization in the country, I have tried to stay informed about the main issues threatening our global environm/… Read full post »

A few weeks ago my blog featured a post called “Pivotal Events”, which are events that change irrevocably the course of history.  I listed ten such occasions, and several others in the OS community offered a/… Read full post »

It's been very hot this past weekend in Northern Illinois.  Not Arizona hot, or even Texas hot, but still hot.  And VERY humid.  90-ish and 75% humidity.  So I found this photo of my son taken almost exactly 5 months ago to the day.

 Doesn't this look inviting… Read full post »

When I was a kid in the late 1960's and early 1970's, a now obscure l… Read full post »

The man and the boy had been anticipating this day for weeks.  It would be the boy’s first time to go river canoeing.  The man, who considers himself reasonably adept, has been down th/… Read full post »

I am not a member of either the Democratic or Republican Party.  I am one of those Independent voters that both parties need in order to win an election.  I have voted in every Presidential and Congressional election since 1976, and have split my vote between both parties.

Like… Read full post »

I work for a very large telecom company.  Every year, management employees are required to read the company's Code of Conduct, and pass a test on its contents.  Since each of the companies that are alleged to have engaged in warrantless wiretaps are progeny of the old Bell System… Read full post »

For Major Dale R. Buis, July 8 started out like any other summer day.  As usual, he missed his family, and he wondered what his small son Kurt would be doing today.  He thought about the Nebraska prairie, and how different that was from where he lived now, a/… Read full post »

I’m thinking about the incredible story the New York Times broke, reporting that the Bush Administration used the same “interrogation techniques” (i.e. torture) on terrorist suspects that the Chinese used to garner false confessions from American Servicemen during the Korean War.&… Read full post »

It was Saturday when Uncle Earl came to visit.  I was playing with my GI Joe’s in the den.  The Germans were searching for the American and British paratroopers, who were hiding by the fireplace, behind the ash shovel and fire poker.  When the doorbell rang, I assumed it/… Read full post »

My most memorable 4th of July experience happened during that greatest 4th of July in my lifetime:  the Bicentennial year of 1976.  I had just graduated from high school 6 weeks earlier.  To celebrate, I packed the backpack, caught the Icelandic flight to Luxembourg, and be… Read full post »

 On the square in Monroe Wisconsin. 

Clientele:  families, hunters, bicyclers, antique shoppers, German & Swiss tourists, Wisconsin wannabes from Illinois

On the bier tapper:  Berghof Red, Berghof Dark, Berghof Lager, Wisconsin Red, New Glarus Spotted Co… Read full post »

I have always believed that history is shaped by a very small number of extremely consequential events.  I call them “pivotal events”.  These are events whose impact irrevocably changes the course of world affairs.  Pivotal events only happen two or three times in a century/… Read full post »

Last night I wanted to see what Fox News was up to, so I spent a few minutes watching "The O’Reilly Factor”.  &… Read full post »

 The dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, migrate 15 feet per year, relentlessly covering everything in their path, including this yucca.  It must have been buried months ago, and still it has managed to flower magnificently.  Will this persistent plant live to see an… Read full post »

We left before the torrential rains flooded the Midwest.  By the time of our return, thousands had been forced to flee from their homes in neighboring Iowa and Wisconsin.  A season’s worth of hard labor and dreams of a record crop were destroyed.  I in my car, enjoying the/… Read full post »

I was warned by Greg, my old college roommate, that this was not the best time of the year to pay him a visit.  He moved to the Texas Panhandle about 5 years ago, and I’m taking the family to visit him for the first time.  

This… Read full post »

Every news outlet is devoting its evening programming to the untimely death of Tim Russert.  It is sad when someone as young as 58 passes and leaves behind a young widow and barely adult son.  This obviously loving family man will never get to see his grandchildren.

 Still,… Read full post »

FDR's VP, John (Cactus Jack) Nance Garner, famously said the Vice Presidency wasn't worth a bucket of warm piss.  The current VP notwithstanding, it's a largely ceremonial role and history shows the choice of VP has a very limited impact in the general election.  I agree with tho… Read full post »

I grew up in Fort Worth during the 1960’s, and every summer my parents packed up the station wagon and drove me and my brother and sister hundreds of miles for the annual family vacation.  Most of the time we went to visit relatives in other states.  Some summers/… Read full post »

statesman, n. a political leader showing an unselfish interest in the common good.

politician, n. one versed in the science of government and the art of governing; one involved in politics for personal gain, political appointment, or partisan objectives.