A Friendly Letter

Since 1981: Quaker stuff, civil rights and other issues, hopeless causes, jokes, photos, stories

Our Motto:

"And it's all right, even if you're old and gray,

'Cuz it's all right, you still got something to say . . ."

                           --Traveling Wilburys

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    • Print Issues-A Friendly Letter – March, 1981 – May,1985 Archive
    • Print Issues-A Friendly Letter – June, 1985 – December, 1989 – Archive
    • Print Issues-A Friendly Letter – June, 1985 – May 1985 – Archive
    • Index of Print Archive PDF’s
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An Example of Intelligent Conservatism

An example of intelligent conservatism. I wonder if anyone in charge was listening?? From an article by David Frum in the New York Times Magazine, published online Nov. 12: Even from a conservative point of view, the welfare state is not all bad. G. K. Chesterton observed that you should never take a fence down … Continue reading An Example of Intelligent Conservatism →

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Bush & His Book: Some Truths In Review

I make it a rule not to write reviews of books I haven’t read. I also do my best to avoid pontificating about them. But I’m also a Quaker, who follows this rule about rules by the Elders of Balby, which they appended to a long list of rules for Quakers in 1656: Dearly beloved … Continue reading Bush & His Book: Some Truths In Review →

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“Damn Right,” Mr. Ex-President?? NO — Damn WRONG.

Chuck Fager So. Former President Bush said “Damn right,” he’d approved the torture by waterboarding of Khaled Sheikh Muhammad, and other terror suspects. (Dick Cheney merely said he was “a big fan” of such tactics.)

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The Inhuman Side of Humanitarianism

Philip Gourevitch is a writer for the New Yorker, and a student of foreign affairs, including wars. In the Oct.11 issue of the magazine, he published a stunning piece, “Alms Dealers,” which demands the attention of every one who ever wanted to give money or time to help someone in distress far away, or even … Continue reading The Inhuman Side of Humanitarianism →

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Wikileaks & Torture: Tom Ricks Holds The Mayo

November 4, 2010: Below I’ve pasted in an Op Ed piece of mine that was just published on our local paper about the recent Wiklieaks disclosure of several hundred thousand documents from the Iraq occupation, and the resulting uproar in media around the world (but not so much in the US, where we think we have … Continue reading Wikileaks & Torture: Tom Ricks Holds The Mayo →

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From “Tell It Slant,” Excerpt #2: Encouraging Rejections

Excerpt #1 is here.) In the spring of 1956 — Chuck was in eighth grade — orders came for the family to  leave an Air Force base in California. His father, now a major, was...

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Announcing: A Very Special Quaker Publishing Award

For years, I’ve been loudly protesting the sky-high, exclusionary prices on “academic” or “scholarly” books and monographs.  The particular focus of my ire has been publications by or about Quakers and Quakerism, though the price-gouging...

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John Calvi: Boon Companion for Spiritual Travel

English-speaking Quakers today are in dire need of some new “spiritual” books, and I have a top candidate to recommend here. It is John Calvi’s How far Have You Traveled? Amid all the wonderful stuff...

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A New Book: A Quaker’s Life in Our “Interesting,” Tumultuous Times

Emma Lapsansky-Werner and Chuck Fager at the Quaker History Roundtable, summer of 2017 Emily Dickinson, # 1263: Tell all the truth but tell it slant — Success in Circuit lies Too...

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A History of NOW and its Women who Made History

The Women of NOW review: superb history of feminist growth and groundswell Katherine Turk has produced a must-read on the group which did so much for American women in the 1960s and 70s Clara BinghamSat...

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Let’s Go Goatwalking, Friends

Jim Corbett was a fascinating guy, but like all of us he had his faults. In his amazing first book, he way overdid the self-deprecation: ”Goatwalking is a book for saddlebag or backpack —to live...

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Recent Books by Chuck Fager: Click a book for ordering information

New release

Selma Alabama Voting Rights March

. . .widely recognized as the most vivid and accurate account of the Selma movement . . .

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Memoir of early Civil Rights Movement .

. . vivid, revealing first-person counterpart to the author's highly-praised historical account, Selma 1965 . . .

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Iraq, Afghanistan Wars

Examines the strategy & tactics, successes & failures, history & future of faith-based work to end war, and to dismantle militarism and the repression it has spawned.

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Progressive Quaker Activism

Examines the neglected role of Progressive Quakers in 19th and 20th century activism -- abolition, women's rights & more.

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Progressive Quakers

How Progressive Quaker activism helped change America.

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Quaker Humor

A new collection of jokes, humorous anecdotes, cartoons and graphics about Quakers.

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