A Non-Pattern of Political Violence

For the second time in just over a year, gunmen targeted a high-profile conservative political figure. On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks wounded then Republican nominee Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. This week, Tyler Robinson murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. … Read more

My Facebook Troll Teacher

A lot of people say that an octopus is like an alien…You’re stepping into this completely different world. Such an incredible feeling. And you feel you’re on the brink of something extraordinary. But you realize that there’s a line that can’t be crossed. ~Craig Foster/My Octopus Teacher (2020) If you follow me on Facebook, you … Read more

The Common Denominator

There is one thing Americans, regardless of their position on the red/blue or left/right spectrum, have in common. Every time there is a mass shooting, we ALL hold our breath in hopes that the perpetrator’s background does not conflict with any predisposition about who is responsible for the ever increasing instances of gun violence targeted … Read more

Monkey Say; Monkey Don’t

Oratory is a powerful tool.  Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address assured a war-torn nation America was an ideal that could survive a civil war.  When Americans could have easily abandoned democracy and capitalism in the face of a global economic depression, Franklin Roosevelt urged them not to let their fears undermine the principles on which our … Read more

Selective DEI

If you think “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) is a thing of the past, you would be sorely mistaken.  The only thing that changes is the target audience and the perceived threats.  Nothing makes this point more clearly than the following headline in the latest edition of the on-line University of Virginia newsletter “UVAToday.”  UVA … Read more