SINCE THE NEWS BROKE TUESDAY that Jon Stewart will retire this year as host of the satirical Comedy Central program “The Daily Show,” I thought I would devote some column space this week to Stewart and what he has accomplished in his 16 years as host. When Stewart took over from the show’s original host […]
Jerome Page: Teaching and profitable transformation
Teachers! Looking for a profitable business? Tired of wearying your way to the same old classroom at the same old pay? Buy your own school, set your own rules and live it up! For your guide to a new life, begin by reading “White Hat’s Magic Trick: Transforming Public Schools into Private Assets,” by Jessica […]
Grant Cooke: Remember when Republicans liked the environment?
IN WHAT MUST SEEM LIKE THE GREATEST OF IRONIES to the current Republican Party, President Richard Nixon, the most infamous Republican president of all time, has become, in retrospect, a huge hero for the environment. Nixon, following in the tradition of another Republican president, the iconic Teddy Roosevelt — whose love for our land’s natural […]
Matt Talbot: ‘Beloved Community’
IN LAST WEEK’S COLUMN, I said that Dr. Martin Luther King sought not to defeat his opponents, but to be reconciled with them. Dr King said, at the successful conclusion of the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1956: “(T)he end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It […]
Matt Talbot: Dr. King’s mission
MONDAY WAS THE 86TH ANNIVERSARY of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., so I thought I would share some thoughts about his life and legacy. My first encounter with Dr. King’s reputation as a public figure was as a student at my elementary school in Richmond. I was 6 years old in 1968, […]
Jerome Page: When profit beckons, who has time for thought?
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FELT THAT I spend far too much time on the issue that is the focus of this piece, please read this analysis carefully. If you continue your critique, either you are right and the following words have no meaning or substance — or, just possibly, you are wrong and this is […]
Matt Talbot: The circle
I HAVE WRITTEN RECENTLY THAT THE U.S. ECONOMY IS SHOWING SIGNS of strengthening and shifting into a higher gear. The direct benefits are straightforward — more jobs for fresh entrants into the workforce, plus long-delayed hope that things will take a turn for the better for the longer-term unemployed. But also worth mentioning are some […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: Data points
I HAVE A COUPLE OF DATA POINTS that I track on a personal level. I watch for new installations of solar panels in my neighborhood, and I look to make sightings of electric bicycles. I’m happy to see solar panels blossoming all around me. I’m not happy, however, to see that some installers just cobble […]
Bruce Robinson: Bring in the ‘wish doctors’
AFTER SIX YEARS OF WHITE HOUSE BLACK MAGIC, maybe it’s time to bring in the wish doctors. First in line is the brilliant brain surgeon, Dr. Ben Carson. While Obama has been back-pedaling from behind on everything from economic growth to national security, Carson has been quietly building his case for a better America. The […]
Dennis Lund: 6 suggestions for the GOP majority
“All glory is fleeting.” — General George S. Patton IN THE MOVIE “PATTON,” THE GENERAL RELATES A STORY: “For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. . . . A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear […]