2016 claims another victim
RIP Santa Claus: 300-2016 AD Go tell the kids – Santa ain’t coming this year.
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Resolved: that future presidential debates ought to use the Lincoln-Douglas format
Partisan discourse can’t sink much lower. Now is the time to resurrect a format that was made for political debates. The third and final “debate” between presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is now mercifully in the rearview mirror, but like a direct hit from an aggrieved skunk, it might take weeks for the stink to fully die down. This trifecta
Read moreDonald Trump is a referendum on your character
I’m not asking who you’re voting for. I’m asking what kind of human being you are. I’m sure you’ve read what Donald Trump said by now, but let’s watch the video and read the transcript just to make sure we’re all on the same page. I was considering titling this essay “Donald Trump is a referendum on our character.” But it isn’t
Read moreChelsea Clinton and "anecdotal evidence"
The once and future first daughter’s bout of reefer madness notwithstanding, please remember: “anecdotal evidence” is another way of saying “no evidence”… Chelsea Clinton, who has been out on the stump a bit lately “helping” her mother’s campaign, recently dove face first into the muck by saying that pot can be fatal. “…we also have anecdotal evidence now from Colorado
Read moreDemocracy in America: a bad idea
It’s now clear that democracy, as practiced in an anti-intellectual society like ours, doesn’t work. Let’s give elitism (properly understood) a try. Many of you probably read Andrew Sullivan’s New York Magazine piece back in April. If not, you should do so as soon as possible – it’s among the most important and insightful political essays we have seen in a generation and
Read moreMonorail to the Future: reasserting the American Dream for #HopeTuesday
With the 1962 World’s Fair, Seattle asserted itself as the city that invented the future. Seattle Center, home to the Space Needle, Key Arena, the Pacific Science Center and other Jetsonesque architectural wonders, gave us a stunning Mid-Century Modern vision of our presumed technotopian future. In 2000 the EMP Museum opened, inserting a postmodern generational overlay in the form of Frank Gehry’s gripping postmodern
Read moreExamining a cynical, fake-patriotic Facebook meme
Instead of making yourself a tool for those whose agendas run counter to the best interests of the nation that flag represents, how about stepping back and asking who’s playing you, and why? This meme came across my Facebook feed earlier today. Obviously somebody has an issue with Colin Kaepernick (and other black athletes) protesting injustice in America by refusing
Read moreWhy are Alaskan Malamutes on my new apartment’s restricted breed list?
Malamutes are about the least dangerous breed I can think of. ‘Splain to me something, doggie people. My new apartment has a list of restricted breeds. Here it is: Pit Bull Terriers/Staffordshire Terriers Rottweilers Doberman Pinschers Chows Presa Canarios Akitas Alaskan Malamutes Wolf Hybrids I’m not going to get into a defense of these breeds, not am I going to
Read moreShaun King is right. White America doesn’t approve of ANY form of black protest.
If you have an issue with what Colin Kaepernick is saying and doing, you’re defending racism and police brutality. Period. Shaun King has a pointed question for all of you Colin Kaepernick critics: which form of protest do you actually prefer? It’s such a great question because when you think back on it, there has never been a black protest that America’s “reasonable” and
Read moreRyan Lochte for president
I’m not disappointed in Ryan Lochte. That would be like getting disappointed at the sun for rising in the east. At squirrels for hoarding nuts. At Arsenal for finishing fourth. No, I’m not disappointed in Ryan Lochte. I’m disappointed in myself. When I saw the headline – Ryan Lochte and three others robbed at gunpoint in Rio – my first thought
Read more2016 Cheyenne Frontier Days: five notes
I attended the 120th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days this afternoon and it was awesome. A few things, first on the competition front: 1: The guy who won the bull riding was a rookie. A 20 year-old rookie. He rode three bulls in three rounds. These are serious bulls, and the idea that anybody rode one of them is ridiculous enough. Three in three days?
Read more#HopeTuesday: Let's #takebackourfuture, one day at a time
Today we launch a new campaign aimed at taking back the future. The original text for this meme was a lot longer. But when you boil it down to its essence, the message is pretty straightforward. We have become so incredibly negative that it’s eroding our ability to even consider the positive. We’re so terrified of where we are that we have
Read moreOf courier bags and man-purses: women have been right all along
I don’t care if you stuff your pockets until it looks like you’re smuggling carburetors. If you’re too macho to carry a bag, that’s your issue. I can imagine how the conversation would go. My father is still alive and it’s Thanksgiving. We’re having dinner at his place. I walk in, say hello to everyone, and he draws a bead on my latest purchase.
Read moreColumbine: 17 years ago today
April 20, 1999. I remember exactly where I was, exactly what I was doing. My co-worker at US West, Joe Lopez, turned to me and said “hey Sammy, there’s been a shooting at a school down in Littleton.” “Find out everything you can,” I said. I’ll go tell Marti. Marti was Marti Smith, our VP, and thus began some of
Read moreDonald Trump is a pig, and Megyn Kelly is neither a journalist nor a feminist
These things are not mutually exclusive. I want to show you two pictures – ones you may have seen recently – and ask you a simple question: what is being communicated? What are the subject, the photographer and the publisher saying to you?
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