April 12, 2026

In his book, Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir writes that "it's the kids of today that'll have to make the world of tomorrow work. And they are going to inherit a mess". Five years have passed since he published this book and the mess

April 12, 2026

On April 11, 2026, the pope denounced Donald Trump and his "delusion of omnipotence". He said, "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!" On April 11, 1767, Ben Franklin expressed a related thought. For Franklin, the

April 11, 2026

Watching the splashdown of the capsule that went around the moon reminded me of watching the astronauts splash down back in the early 70s. It was captivating then and it is captivating now. The main difference is that I now understand why people like Tim O'Brien would be

April 10, 2026

This has been a tough week for anyone paying attention to the events in the world. We had threats of genocide coupled with a continuous stream of bombings in Lebanon, migrants dying as they bravely seek a better life, and corruption at the highest levels in society. At times, it

April 9, 2026

The price of gas? That is what we see as our best line of attack to regain Congress in November! The threat of genocide, letting climate change run wild, the kidnapping of people off the streets, the separation of families; are these issues you think might not resonate? Sure, when

April 8, 2026

Good News!! In a followup to two stories from earlier this week, we learn that both the wife of the U.S. soldier and the reporter in Iraq have been freed. These stories show us that public pressure and bad press still have to power to bring about positive change.

April 7, 2026 (End of World Edition)

The leader of the country with the largest military and the most nuclear weapons has threatened to commit genocide tonight. He said, "A whole civilization will die tonight". Let there be no mistake, if this comes to pass, it is the death of two civilizations. If the western

April 7, 2026

Jane Austen tells us that even in the best of circumstances, "happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance". Now imagine that the government that you have sworn to serve and risk your life for decides that you have no chance of happiness because they are going

April 6, 2026

Mark Twain best expressed the feelings I had when I saw MTG express outrage to Trump's threats to Iran. I love that she didn't just call out Trump but also all of his enablers. And then, to top it off, she went on to show concern

April 5, 2026

Today's Easter Prayer comes to us from W.E.B. DuBois who asked "The good Lord to deliver us from a world where everybody looks like his neighbor and thinks like his neighbor and is like his neighbor".

April 4, 2026

With the astronauts still days away from reaching the moon, we are already getting fantastic pictures of our home planet. As with every picture of the Earth from space, we see what a fragile, interconnected planet we are living on. Yet, in our short-sighted and selfish actions we are killing

April 3, 2026

"Reporters are heroes of our time", for without them we would not know truth and without truth there is no informed democracy. Reading about Shelly Kittleson is a humbling experience as we realize just how much some of our fellow humans are willing to risk to keep us

April 2, 2026

In his book, Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. describes the feelings of a character who is going out in public for the first time, dressed as a woman. He writes, "He felt uninhibited and beautiful and lovable and suddenly free". These are feelings we should want all

April 1, 2026

I understand where Virginia Woolf was coming from when she wrote that "Good books are desirable..., even if [the authors] show every variety of depravity". I have no doubt that every single author I quote has some aspects of their character that I would reject in real life

March 31, 2026

According to her daughter, Marie Curie was not a fan of putting students into traditional school settings. She thought it was "barbarous...to steal innumerable sterile 'hours of attendance' from them at a age where they should be running free" Now in Bolivia they have mandated

March 30, 2026

Paraphrasing Thoreau is the best way to describe Pete Hegseth: "You talk of heaven but you disgrace the Earth". Today's Philadelphia Inquirer had a story with very mellow headline: "Hegseth's assertive faith breaks norms, critics say". But as we read the story

March 29, 2026

At the same time Charles Darwin was writing his The Descent of Man, Mikhail Bakunin was proudly telling us that what set our first ancestors apart from other animals was our Power to Think and our Desire to Rebel. These two defining traits have never been needed more. Look at

March 28, 2026 (No Kings Day)

Don't just go out to protest today and then come home thinking that you accomplished something. Instead, use these gatherings to make connections with like-minded groups and individuals. At the end of the day, make sure you have something to turn your energies to, a distinctly defined object

March 27, 2026

Thomas Paine said it best, "NO KINGS"!! Make sure you get out to show your support for one of our founding principles this Saturday. If you are in the South Jersey area, please consider coming to the NK3 rally in Camden: https://crinj.org/nk3/ If you are

March 26, 2026

Charles Dickens wrote the book Hard Times 174 years ago. In it, he was making fun of people who thought that children were empty vessels to be crammed full of facts. He modeled an education system in which the teachers were to be similar to machinery on a factory floor

March 25, 2026

More than 50 years ago, Rachel Carson did her best to wake the country up to what we were doing to our environment. There is no doubt that she was successful in getting Americans from all parts of the political spectrum to understand the dangers that unchecked capitalism posed to

March 24, 2026

Over 50 years ago, the great Shirley Chisholm said the obvious, "abortion is a fact of life. Women will have them; they always have and always will". Today's NPR article, once again, shows the truth of her statement. I just don't understand why it

March 23, 2026

I saw a link to this on Mastodon and wanted to share it. I highly encourage you to read the whole thing, but this paragraph will give you a flavor of the insanity that we are faced with on a daily basis. None us know if this is all going

March 22, 2026

Robert Mueller spent his life serving this country, and now, when he dies, the president says "Good, I'm glad he's dead". Well, I think many of us will feel the same thing in the not too distance future but in regards to another public