IMPORTANT READS

TALE OF TWO AMERICA’S--As protests and riots spread like wildfire across the nation in response to the death of George Floyd and other black people at the hands of white police officers, I cannot help but recall an old African Proverb:

OTHERWORDS--The grocery store across from my old house in La Mesa, California (just outside of San Diego) has been vandalized and looted. Two nearby banks were burned to the ground.

WORLD WATCH-The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in broad daylight came amid a high point in the continuing rampage of the coronavirus throughout the country, killing over 100,000 and infecting nearly two million while more than 45 million have lost their jobs.

AMERICA AT A CROSSROAD-No one wants to see their community burn.

GUEST WORDS--Over the last several days, protesters across the United States have demanded justice for the horrific police killings of George Floyd and countless other African Americans.

PROGRESSIVE POLITICS-The popular website Twitter has become an eminently reliable hub for cultural and political drama.

VIEW FROM HERE--The United States is the richest country in the world. It has the best hospitals in the world.

ONE MAN’S OPINION--When Benjamin Franklin (above left) described the type government which the Constitutional Convention had created, he could have followed up with “There is no greater threat to a republic than a democracy.” 

VIEW FROM HERE-Ten reasons why. . .

GUEST WORDS--Back in the early days of the U.S. environmental movement, it wasn’t so hard to persuade people that it costs money to clean up pollution.

COVID 19 POLITICS-As the U.S. begins to reopen after being shut down to protect us from spreading Covid-19, many people are beginning to talk about a choice between what is good for the economy and what will keep us healthy.

VIEW FROM HERE-My first real introduction to ancient Chinese philosophy happened while studying at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

VIEW FROM HERE-While Joseph Biden chimes in from a studio in his basement, President Trump has the biggest bully pulpit in the world, including the ability to stage a town hall in the lustrous shadow of the Lincoln Memorial.

OTHERWORDS--If you want to see some mild misogyny disguised as jokes, I recommend Jerry Seinfeld’s new standup special on Netflix “23 Hours to Kill.” 

VOICES-No other nation has endured as much death from Covid-19 nor nearly as a high a death rate as has the United States. 

SOCIAL SECURITY POLITICS-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and senior advisor Jared Kushner listen as President Donald Trump meets with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Oval Office of the White House on April 28, 2020 in Washington, D.C.

PERSPECTIVE-Along with millions of other Southern Californians, my family and I have been learning to live with the probability in our lifetimes of a mega-quake,

PERSPECTIVE--“Avridamah!!” shouted Matteo, from across the park.

GUEST WORDS--The Senate just unanimously passed a $483 billion coronavirus aid package in addition to the $2.2 trillion previously authorized by The CARES Act to soften the economic impact of Covid-19 on Americans.

PERSPECTIVE--After the demise of the Soviet Union and the US intervention that crushed Saddam Hussein’s attack on Kuwait in 1991, President George H. W. Bush pronounced a new world order.

GUEST COMMENTARY--In the midst of  a pandemic that's killed more than 65,000 Americans and infected more than a million,