Shutdown — One Viral Video and a Sort of Bipartisan Response

[NOTE:  Viral Video from title — http://www.votevets.org/home] [later NOTE:  It’s 10-16 around 10:00 PST — the headlines I see say it’s over.  This is a relief.  Now the clean-up starts.  And, by way of apology for any implication that furloughed Federal workers were not experiencing significant financial and professional stress (but rather were only on “paid vacation”), I offer this link to the real stories of real people — all Federal employees severely… Read More

American Connections

“It’s as old as humanity itself.  Literature is filled with stories about the warriors who come face to face and discover that they’re actually destroying themselves.”  Andy Walton This morning I had separate conversations with a sustainable energy professional, a poet, a Starbucks barista, a wildlife biologist and an ex-offender. All are Americans.  All spoke of matters central to their lives. They were regular conversations, nothing special.  The kind of chit chat… Read More

Sustainability and Joy

3-10-2009 11th & E, NW Washington, DC A small pastel bouquet of balloons – green, pink, yellow, white – just floated toward the sky between the Hotel Harrington and the ESPN Building. I can’t tell where they came from, and now can no longer see where they’ve gone. Pastel balloons don’t really fit here. Compared with the communities I’ve visited across the South, more people here are wearing black and walking quickly…. Read More