Back in the day, the Vietnam years, resisters against the military draft could muster an occasional bit of whimsy. A favorite button was about beer. But if truth is the first casualty of war, for many of us whimsy and a sense of humor were soon missing in action too. Draft resistance became a mass … Continue reading Say Hello to The New “Antiwar” Movement: It’s Already Winning
Another round in Thailand’s quest for genuine democracy By Gwynne Dyer — May 3, 2023 There have been occasional violent episodes in Thai politics and one recent massacre (2010), but the struggle for a genuine democracy has usually been relatively restrained. Maybe that is why it has lasted so long. In fact, the tug-of-war between … Continue reading Gwynne Dyer: Thailand’s Struggle For Democracy
[NOTE: In 2008, Al McCoy was a main speaker at a conference on U. S. torture that I helped organize. Both his talk and his academic record marked him as a scholar to reckon with on matters of foreign policy and empire. This record drew me to this new analysis of the rapid shifts of … Continue reading Alfred McCoy on the Rise of China
The stump & the wild strawberry: Tuesday it was my difficult duty to explain to a great-granddaughter that wild strawberries look good, but don’t taste good. Later this year, or maybe next, I may have to address her definite suspicion that not long after Thanksgiving, her grandpa turns into Santa Claus . . . . … Continue reading In The Yard: The Stump, the Wild Strawberry & the Pollinators’ Friend
It was in the second session of our anti-racism class, if I remember right, that the teacher drew a diagram on the big flip chart. I’m going to call it TUD, for The Unforgettable Diagram. I’ve forgotten a lot about the class, but not that. Definitely not that. The class met in the library at … Continue reading Aiming for the Roots: Anti-Racism and A Failed Attack on Racist Culture