I OPEN WITH A STARTLING PIECE OF NEWS concerning man’s fascination with the mysteries of the clear blue oceans. From the Washington Post “Wonkblog,” the following: “Good Job Humans: The oceans now contain 5 trillion pieces of floating plastic,” by Chris Mooney, Dec. 10: “A major new study of the world’s oceans has reached a […]
Matt Talbot: On torture
“For the purposes of this Convention, the term ‘torture’ means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed […]
Jerome Page: Bulletins from the battlefield
AND A BATTLEFIELD IT DOTH APPEAR TO BE. I begin with the tale of the passionate determination of the Tea Party Militia of Wisconsin (!) to insure that voting (for the other party!) will not be a smooth pathway. I quote below from “Tea Party Militia Group Threatens to Arrest Democrats at Polling Places,” by […]
Matt Talbot: Redefining affordable
A FRIEND OF MINE IS LOOKING TO MOVE closer to the heart of the Bay Area — to Berkeley, specifically — and called me the other day to bring me up to date on his progress. “It’s insane, Matt,” he said. “One-bedroom apartments start at around $2,000 per month!” My friend makes around the average […]
Opinion: For the Community Sustainability Commission, a way forward
IN AN OPED ON SUNDAY, Community Sustainability Commission member Kathy Kerridge attempted to “correct the record” but only revealed more problems with the process the CSC has used to award grants. I will only address some of those problems. Attempting to justify the CSC’s accounting of water savings for their own proposed project, Ms. Kerridge […]
Robert Shelby: Democrats will live
THROUGH 83 YEARS I’VE SURVIVED MANY LOSSES. Some fairly good jobs, not all lost voluntarily. Parents. My second wife died. Then my lady companion of 18 years. Earlier, my first wife, our son’s mother, parted from me twice. We later divorced. In all, we survived tough times emotionally, and often unemployed or under-employed during Republican […]
Kathy Kerridge: Correcting the record on grants
GREG GARTRELL WROTE AN INTERESTING, BUT INACCURATE, column in The Herald last week regarding the Community Sustainability Commission. Having been on the commission since its inception, I believe that several of his points are well taken. The commission as a whole has felt the need to better explain its rationale for recommending the funding of […]
Elizabeth Patterson: Staying the course on public health, safety, welfare
I WOULD LIKE TO RESPOND TO A COUPLE OF recent letters commenting about our city attorney that were published in The Benicia Herald. I personally prefer people to focus on issues and not staff. It should not be about staff, since they work for the City Council. What was noted in one letter in defense […]
Matt Talbot: What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
THANKSGIVING IS THE CONSENSUS HOLIDAY FOR EVERY AMERICAN. Jews may not celebrate Christmas, nor Christians Ramadan, but all of us pause on the last Thursday in November to give thanks, particularly for the abundance that is America’s most persistent and bewitching characteristic. Even most non-believers pause to appreciate what we have. I’ve spent time overseas, […]
Dennis Lund: What price to achieve a progressive utopia?
“Americans are so enamored of equality, they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.” — Alexis de Tocqueville WE ARE FAST APPROACHING THE POINT WHERE we may be forced to make the choice described by de Tocqueville: Capitulate to the ever-increasing demands of “progressives,” thus resigning ourselves to tyranny under the guise […]