All my adult life I've struggle with a question: what is the difference between Democrats and Republicans?   Liberal vs. conservative.  Rich vs. poor.  Labor vs. business.  Govt vs. markets.  None of these answers did justice to the hard, political realities of the divid… Read full post »

Sometimes my fellow citizens behave badly and make me angry.  Though I love this country, occasionally I find myself enraged at its bad behavior. 

I’m angry because thirty to forty percent of my fellow citizens think it’s a good idea to torture people, their a… Read full post »

The last Kennedy boy is dead and all the progressives I know are still grieving.  It seems we're not just mourning the death of the senator, but of our last, best chance to get universal health care.   We all know, deep down, that we don't trust anyone else in the Senate to n… Read full post »

I believe the Obama army is ridden with doubt and not yet taken up the healthcare fight.

Like most other Obama soldiers, veterans of the campaign, I too get mail everyday from MoveOn, Organizing for America and similar groups urging my action on healthcare.  I've given some of my time… Read full post »

I worked at Texas Instruments in the late '80s when I first hit the labor force as a newly minted electrical engineer.  It was fun -- there were plenty of older engineers with extra time on their hands to mentor a young know-nothing like me.  I got to work with some… Read full post »

I went to see my shrink today and fully expected to exit with the warm glow I usually attain after 52 minutes of undivided attention from this wise old man.  Not today.  I brought up the current health care debate and he seemed more furious than me.  I found his… Read full post »

The news out today suggest that hundreds, maybe thousands more will die from driving smaller more efficient cars.  

USA Today points out that if the new rules push automakers to build smaller cars, "highway safety could decline" since they're less safe in crashes. … Read full post »

I grabbed a Diet Coke out of the small fridge at the head of the cashier's line at the grocery store.  I opened it before paying and sucked in two mouthfuls.  Finally getting my fix after two dry days, I let out a long satisfied sigh.  This is so lame.  … Read full post »

I have some training in the hard sciences and claim to know some about numbers. $45,000,000,0000,000 is a very big number. The entire… Read full post »

What do we do with a pile of public servants who refuse to serve public?  Year after year, decade after decade, Republicans in the House have obstructed the will of the people with impunity.

I have a modest proposal.

Since they are unlikely to go away, unlikely to stop screaming… Read full post »

Back in 2004 my four-year-old could speak Polish.  She had a Polish care giver she loved more than her parents.  I wanted to encourage this bilingualism so one weekend I took her to the Polish fest in Chicago.

She could fit in anywhere because she's little and cute. … Read full post »

Here's a high tech weapon soon to be deployed against green house gases: trees.    Actually any plant can be modifield slightly to reflect more sunlight off the leaf while still absorbing the same amount of GHGs.   Planting thousands and thousands of the trees around the globe will pre… Read full post »

Che part I and II played today to a few dozen people in Chicago.   Most of the people around me were half asleep by the end of hour four.   On the other hand I was inspired to buy guns, ammo, and a chartered plane to Havana.

I believe every… Read full post »