If you don’t already know, Stratfor is a private company, founded by George Friedman, that gathers international intelligence and creates reports which they sell to individual subscribers, businesses, and governments. They have been in the news recently because their data and email were serious… Read full post »

Jesus was "the good shepherd." He washed feet, gathered children to himself,  recommended being a "good Samaritan," fed the hungry, and healed the sick.

Jesus showed compassion for the 99%: the poor and the common people including sinners, lepers, tax collectors, and prostitutes.

On the other h… Read full post »

When did they decide that, because I’m a “liberal” that I like taxes? That's a serious misrepresentation! I don’t like taxes at all. But, here’s the difference. I understand that I like what my taxes get for me and I'm not inclined to be a parasite.

I like… Read full post »

Hate is a very strong word. It is one thing to be disappointed, to dislike, or be opposed. It is quite another thing to let your emotions drive your opinions over rational consideration. Hate is divisive and destructive. Instead of healthy competition, with debate of ideas leading to compromise in pu… Read full post »

I found this posted on the information board at my US Post Office in Dayton, Iowa, 50530 on March 2, 2012. There were also three modified cartoons referring to President Obama, fried chicken, watermelon, and black salami. I thought that the cartoons were inappropriate and offensive to public… Read full post »

By David Satterlee

This morning, I opened the Fort Dodge, Iowa Messenger News. I’ve been skipping past the editorial section because it tends to feature mostly conservative columnists beating the same old drums. Today, feeling the sap rising in the grass-roots democratic arm of the De/… Read full post »

 will.i.am rounded up his friend Jesse Dylan, the filmmaker son of Bob Dylan, to direct the project. In the span of two days, they got some 30 Obama-supporting celebrities to come into the studio, including Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Tatyana Ali, Nick Cannon, Common, Kelly Hu, Scarlett Johansson, John… Read full post »

Very few people now alive have had the experience of what I think of as “Real War.” Oh, we still use the word “war,” but it doesn’t seem to carry the same sense of dramatic finality that it formerly did. War, and our thinking about war, has gotten soft. Our changing… Read full post »

Heartwarming poem for children, A very active child negotiates a trip to Grandma's house, which is full of "precious things." Read by the author.

I wrote this poem in 2004 for a grandchild. You know who you are. And, you’re still welcome to visit at every opportunity!

Friends, please h… Read full post »

Fable of brother and sister eagles raised with a farmer’s chickens. One likes his lot in life but the other seeks to fulfill her potential.

An integrally informed story of personal transformation. Adapted from memory from a Cherokee story teller. Read by the author. Read full post »

 
Porter brothers (Duane, Allen, and Tom) perform their specialty act.

 by David Satterlee

 Allen Porter, born in 1918, still bears the broad shoulders and strong hands of a sturdy working man. He also still wears cowboy boots and keeps the horns of a longhorn steer mounted above… Read full post »

Published in the Dayton Review on October 19, 2011 – Front page, above the fold

It was a privilege to be “embedded” with the emergency first responders in this drill. Special thanks to the K-9 dog team who agreed to let me accompany them.

Read the complete article… Read full post »

Published in the Dayton Review on October 5, 2011 – Front page, color picture, above the fold

Local Girl Scouts “Troop 9” welcome large number of new members, start a food and clothing drive

Thank you for the organizing by troop leaders and enthusiasm of all the gi… Read full post »

All politicians are aware that they need to be careful of their words. Words have the power to invoke strong emotions, which can distract from rational debate. These words, repeated over and over, confer the conviction of certainty and authority, even when they lack any basis in fact.… Read full post »

From 1981 to 2009, the greatest accomplishment of the antigovernment Republicans was not to reduce the size of the Federal government but to stop paying for it. As a/… Read full post »

Source: Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy by Bill Clinton 
Abstracted from pages 42-47

Whatever our shortcomings, because Democrats, whether conservative, liberal, or moderate, basically believe government has an important role to play in our lives, they wa… Read full post »

I read the article in “The Daily Beast” – The Path to Victory in November for Barack Obama and the Democrats by Michael Tomasky. One of the comments pointed out that President Obama doesn’t get credit for all the changes that he has made to support America’s re/… Read full post »

Donald Trump

“The Apprentice” – “You’re Fired” is the inevitable payoff for watching. [It was a game show.]

Mitt Romney

"I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." [Talking about insurance companies] [It was a “misquote.”]

%IM… Read full post »

I have studiously watched all (I think) of the 2011/2012 Republican debates. I wanted to expose myself to a variety of points of view, even if they might differ from my own current preconceived notions. The exercise has left me shocked and appalled.

It was not just the remarkable certainty of… Read full post »

It occurred to me a while back that the conservative ideal of “individual freedom,” taken to its logical end, promotes anarchy. If everybody does only what appeals to them as being in the best interests of themselves, their family, or their tribe, it prevents them from fully engaging in t… Read full post »