Category: Uncategorized

The President Goes Fishing

I left the desert of Arizona for the water of Florida, lots of water and a softer air. Left behind was the adventure of the border with stalwart ranchers up against drug cartels that are running Mexico and poisoning us.

I settled in the area of Stuart, a coastal town that manages to preserve much of old Florida, distinctive homes and stores that may date back to the early 1900’s and cannot have more than four stories in contrast to the high-rise glitz on the rest of the Atlantic coast. That’s the way its citizens like it, and they’re determined to keep it that way. Continue reading “The President Goes Fishing”

The Brain Besieged

I went to the ophthalmologist Dr. Paul Pare in downtown Stuart, Florida, with a scratched cornea. He prescribed for it, but then his staff wondered if there was something else wrong with me besides my eye – some awkward footsteps, confused speech. Let’s go to the Martin Health hospital across the street for a look, they advised. That we did. A CT scan was taken and impressed the veteran neurosurgeon, Dr. John Afshar, who said we operate tonight. Too much blood on the brain. Continue reading “The Brain Besieged”

The Great Indian Oil Days

In the American western surge, native Indians were in the way. They were killed in battle, moved from place to place, confined in reservations on less desirable land. But one tribe – the Osage – lucked out. The barren soil it was forced to inhabit in Oklahoma had a hidden treasure beneath – oil. For a few exhilarating years in the 1920’s, the Indians lived like white men and then some, arguably the richest people in the country until as luck would have it – or fate – the whites took it all away. Continue reading “The Great Indian Oil Days”

Wild Horses

As dawn approaches, a group of inmates at an Arizona state prison in the town of Florence head for the horses – not to escape on them but to care for them before they are sent on to the Border Patrol. It’s a program of rehabilitation. By handling the horses, it’s reasoned, the prisoners will better handle themselves when it comes time for their release. The prisoners seem to have caught on. Brian Tierce, imprisoned for assault, told Reuters the horses have taught him “patience, perseverance, kindness and understanding.” Continue reading “Wild Horses”

Karl Marx Is Back

Americans are more unequal than ever. One percent of the population has close to half the nation’s wealth, while ninety-nine percent makes do with the rest. How did this come about? Who is responsible? Why, Karl Marx, claims economist James Petras in a recent article in the Unz Review. Karl Marx! Promoter of revolution, communism and class struggle as “the motor force of history” that will ultimately bring the less fortunate to power! You’ve got to be kidding. Continue reading “Karl Marx Is Back”

Example of Rome

Is there anything to learn from an empire that collapsed over 1,500 years ago? Yes indeed, since it’s the Roman Empire that provided a longer period of peace and prosperity for a crucial part of the world than it had ever experienced before or has since. Here is Edward Gibbon in his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Continue reading “Example of Rome”

War Tweets

As troubles pile up at home, President Trump acts more aggressively overseas, as we know from his tweets. That’s a mistake, say two researchers who have traced Trump’s surprise election victory to his anti-war stance that gave him three crucial states won by the Democrats in 2012:  Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Continue reading “War Tweets”