Category Archives: Essays

I Ran U.S.A.I.D. Killing It Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere.

By Samantha Power in the NYT (Thanks to Diana C.) Ms. Power was the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development in the Biden administration. We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in … Continue reading

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An American tragedy: how Biden paved the way for Trump’s White House return

From The Guardian by David Smith – Thanks to Frank C. To admirers, Biden will remain one of the most consequential one-term presidents in US history – to detractors, he was undone by a fatal flaw His back straight, his … Continue reading

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The Shock of Faith: It’s Nothing Like I Thought It Would Be

Ed Note: In this essay David Brook shares his journey about faith. The influences of his Jewish heritage and Christian leanings are presented. Faith, of course, is very personal but what does it really mean to you? Some feel that … Continue reading

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IMPATIENCE AND HOPE

Ed note: A college classmate and journalist, Bruce Henderson, recently published this piece in a magazine he edits. It addresses our sense of loss as society often doesn’t have a moral compass. Although one can say that organized religion has … Continue reading

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David Brooks, “How the Ivy League Broke America”

Thanks to Linda Wolf for mentioning the article in The Atlantic

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Mr. Trump, Do You Realize How Much the World Has Changed Since You Were President?

Ed note: Friedman raised has legitimate concerns that an unfocused chaotic Whitehouse will not have the bandwidth to deal with, let alone understand, the major changes in Iran and Israel. Perhaps more importantly he won’t understand the coming explosion of … Continue reading

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A note from Robert Reich

Thanks to Mike C. Friends, What do card sharks, magicians, pickpockets, and tyrants do to hide their tricks? They deflect your attention. “Look over here!” they say, as they create a commotion that preoccupies your mind while they bamboozle you.  … Continue reading

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It Can Happen Here: Reckoning with Donald Trump’s 2024 Election Victory

Everyone who realizes with proper alarm that Trump’s reelection is a deeply dangerous moment in American life must think hard about where we are. By David Remnick in The New Yorker (thanks to Ed M.) On the morning after Donald … Continue reading

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Young Washington voters say cost of living is their top concern

For most residents 18-35, the dream of home ownership is dead, and rising costs of food and transportation hit hard as the state grows more unaffordable. by Nate Sanford/ October 31, 2024 in Crosscut Brandon Borg, 21, fills his gas tank in … Continue reading

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Hell yes! The Seattle Times edit board endorses Harris for president

By Frank Blethen and Kate Riley – Seattle Times publisher and Times editorial page editor As one of the country’s very few family-owned and -operated metro newspapers left, The Seattle Times is also apparently one of the few whose editorial board is … Continue reading

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Lessons for Industry from Boeing’s Wanton Self-Immolation

By James S. Russell in Post Alley (thanks to Ed M.) The 2018 crash of two airliners, one in Indonesia (in which 189 people died), the other in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which killed 157, underscore that America needs to revive … Continue reading

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Every river has its people

If “every river has its people,” can The People restore their river? Thanks to Ed M. Davus Burge in Post Alley Of Native Americans and their world on Puget Sound, here ar the words of John, a Swinomish elder born … Continue reading

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I Don’t Want to Live in a Monoculture, and Neither Do You

Ed note: This is a thought provoking article about the failure of the DEI effort at the University of Michigan. Do we live in a monoculture, given the current political turmoil? Is part of the equation showing respect, kindness and … Continue reading

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The Heart of the Debate

By Diana Butler Bass from The Cottage – Thanks to Pam P. Tonight is debate night in America. This might be the only meeting between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris before our November elections. I was dreading the Trump-Biden debate. … Continue reading

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Lewis Thomas on Aging

From The Fragile Species: “Florida Scott Maxwell, a successful British actress, a scholar, and always a writer, wrote: ‘Age puzzles me.  I thought it was a quite time. My seventies were interesting and serene, but my eighties were passionate. I … Continue reading

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Democracy–all at once

by Heather Cox Richardson

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Great Words of Wisdom

Thanks to Mary Jane F.

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David Brooks critique–“Making Peace With the Kamala Harris Nomination”

By David Brook Opinion Columnist in the NYT At the beginning of 2019 I wrote a column enthusiastically arguing that Kamala Harris was the Democratic Party’s strongest candidate to take on Donald Trump. My core argument was pretty simple: If Democrats hoped to … Continue reading

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Treaty Justice by Charles Wilkinson

Thanks to Ed M. From Post Alley by David Brewster Fifty years ago, federal Judge George Boldt issued his landmark decision on tribal fishing rights. An admirable new book, Treaty Justice, by law professor and tribal advocate Charles Wilkinson, has just … Continue reading

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Today’s Teenagers Have Invented a Language That Captures the World Perfectly

By Stephen Marche in the NYT. (Thanks to Put B.) Mr. Marche is the author, most recently, of “The Next Civil War.” My son just completed high school and when he leaves for college in the fall my life will change … Continue reading

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Father’s Day Essay by Heather Cox Richardson

Thanks to Pam P.

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What Have We Liberals Done to the West Coast?

By Nicholas Kristof Opinion Columnist, reporting from Portland, Ore. for the NYT As Democrats make their case to voters around the country this fall, one challenge is that some of the bluest parts of the country — cities on the West … Continue reading

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The Woman Who Could Smell Parkinson’s

She first noticed the scent on her husband. Now her abilities are helping unlock new research in early disease detection. By Scott Sayare in the NYT: Scott Sayare is a writer in New York. He interviewed doctors, researchers, caregivers and patients … Continue reading

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Heather Cox Richardson – Contrasting facts to Trump lies

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How to Stay Sane in Brutalizing Times

Thanks to Marilyn W. By David Brooks We’re living in a brutalizing time: Scenes of mass savagery pervade the media. Americans have become vicious toward one another amid our disagreements. Everywhere I go, people are coping with an avalanche of negative … Continue reading

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