Monthly Archives: June 2006

The Street Where You Live

6/29/2006 – 3:49 pm

I was driving through a small town near Burlington yesterday when I passed a stenciled sign nailed to a utility pole: “Main Street Closed for Parade, July 4, 10:30 a.m.” All over America, volunteer firefighters are polishing their trucks and pulling their visored caps and white gloves from the closet shelf. Children will [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

My Neighbor’s Keeper

6/22/2006 – 7:16 am

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus Christ knew what he was talking about. He once said, “The poor will be with you always,” and, yes, there are poor people everywhere and their lives become more desperate every month. But are they “with us”?
I’m in Washington, DC this week; poor people are everywhere, performing menial [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

Talking Real Money

6/15/2006 – 10:10 am

In the produce section at the grocery store the other day, I was pleased to see cherries are in season. I wasn’t pleased to see they cost nine dollars a pound. These were not organic cherries but conventional, pesticide-sprayed fruit. What makes them expensive is that they were trucked in from Michigan [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

Murder in the Echo Chamber

6/8/2006 – 11:32 am

Evidence continues to grow that U.S. marines murdered non-combatants in the Iraqi town of Haditha last November. It remains to be seen whether anything more than Abu Ghraib wrist slaps are dispensed and whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continues to refuse to resign even as he racks another war crime.
The arc of the story [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

The Other Shoe

6/1/2006 – 7:54 am

Last week’s commentary on global warming elicited a stream of responses, some scolding me for being gloomy; one reader expressed gratitude for being 88 years old. I wish the news was better, but I’d rather know that not know, so hold on: this week the other shoe drops.
The other shoe is peak oil, a [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)