Clare Consultation, LLCHere Comes New Hampshire — Time to Launch the 100 VOICES Primary Commentary
I want to see this country back to using its head. Just common sense. I’ve known some Congressmen and other people in Washington. They all kind of shrug their shoulders. I have a Congressman friend I asked, “How many Senators and Congressmen do you admire for their intelligence?” This man is very, very sharp. He said, “About 20%.” He said there are more idiots sitting in the Senate and in Congress than… Read More
Glimpses of the Rural/Urban Thing in the U.S.
Most Februaries I spend bemoaning rain, rain, rain, while walking around my everyday life in Portland, OR. In February 2009, I was on the EX:Change road trip – cruising down the west coast and taking a left so that by Valentine’s Day, on the interstate from Tucson to Albuquerque, I was pushing 80 mph behind an 18-wheeler named for that very day (really…see EX:C blog photo, 2-18-2009, Cattle Trail). Now it’s February… Read More
Taxis, TSA & the Imprecision of Communication
Tuesday night I was in a Taxi in San Francisco. My companion and I sat in the back seat comfortable after another in a two-day series of divine dining experiences. Earlier in the evening we had walked downtown sidewalks under a sky defined by elegant angles of glass and steel reaching to frame the gibbous moon and Venus where they glittered in their particular harmony. We were looking for the Mexican fusion… Read More
Here in the Waning Days of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
I was raised by straight parents. I benefited from that. I continue to benefit from living as a heterosexual adult. People don’t ask about my sexual orientation or identity, but there’s no law saying they can’t. I can write this stuff down here and not offend any law or anyone at all. I’ve never been afraid or harassed because my romantic affections go to men. Every bit of that is privilege. Today… Read More
Delta Park Powwow: Fathers’ Day for a Change
“It will always be important to have a community of people who support each other and work together for the struggle, I guess. Yes, for the struggle for all people.” Bruce McQuakay It took a bit of coaxing by the emcee, but today, 50 or so fathers made their way into the dance circle at the center of the Delta Park Powwow gathering for the honor song led by the Four Directions drum… Read More
Be the Change
“We need to ‘be the change,’ – Gandhi – ‘we want to see in the world.’ I think we’re ready.” Tara Loyd Remember Tara and Brett from last week? You already know they are good at listening to one another even though they often don’t agree – especially on matters political. A thing they did agree on was the necessity for being active parts of the public changes they want to see. … Read More
48 Hours
2-8-2009 Thousand Oaks, CA JUST OFF HWY 101 — ANOTHER COFFEE SHOPPE Wow, these hills. And then there’s the narrative running its marathon through my head. I’ve now pulled off the road because I can’t go another mile without some kind of brain dump – that crass-ish new-mil term that seems oddly consistent with the sound of the word blog. In the past 48 hours: I’ve spoken with a single mom –… Read More
The Buzz of LA
2-9-2009 Irvine CA ON THE ROAD BETWEEN LA & SAN DIEGO The buzz of LA comes in part from its paradoxes. There’s the manic aggression of drivers on the roads that drape the curving hills – the drivers competing for time and space, the roadways dipping and gliding like strains of Strauss’s Blue Danube. There’s the local sheriff who is proposing gun control measures to resistant citizens of a county considering cutting… Read More