To a point, I share the view expressed recently by Kevin Drum writing for Mother Jones in his article “Are We Really In Control of Our Own Outrage? The Case of Social Media and Tim Hunt” that we as a society in the social media age need to evolve a more moderate, thoughtful, nuanced response, Read More

With 12 candidates for Washington State Representative from my legislative district, the 4th, I decided to take a different approach to figuring out who to vote for instead of party affiliation (or not). I asked 6 questions that pertain to actually governing, not (strictly) about positions on issues. I eliminated candidates as I went., Read More

Prior to the 2012 election, our local paper ran a photo album of people at the GOP headquarters hard at work on the campaign. I found one photo particular telling. It was a picture of campaign supplies, buttons and hats. The hats said two things: “Defeat Obama” in large, prominent print and “Restore America”, Read More

“If you are elected, what could you both give to this country as a man, as a human being, that no one else could?” Martha Raddatz to Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan, Vice Presidential Debates, 2012 In 2008, when then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama picked Senator Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential, Read More

There is a particularly hateful article that has been posted on a number of blogs and recently on facebook that I find stunning in its bigotry. [Update June 8, 2013: I had posted the text of the article before but have discovered that people were linking to it directly. I have removed it so that, Read More

With apologies in advance — I try to keep my commentary as neutral as possible, respectful, and generally dispassionate. This is not one of those posts. In an amazing article, Mother Jones reports that Governor Romney told a group of wealthy supporters what he really thinks of Obama supporters. MoJo quotes: There are 47, Read More

I originally wrote and posted this pledge during 2008 campaign season when I had reached my limit of hateful and disrespectful emails from friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances. Curiously, it is still appropriate today; even more so with the rise in use of facebook and twitter as a means to express political views. Feel, Read More

In the first few definitions, the Urban Dictionary would have you believe that “snark” is a modern term obtained by combining “snide” and “remark”. It certainly has a modern ring to it. But if you persist, you find that Lewis Carroll wrote a story in 1876, called “The Hunting of the Snark”. I find, Read More

Floating Social Media Icons by Acurax Wordpress Designers