Author Archives: floegel

Render Unto Caesar

5/16/2013 – 2:59 pm

I’ve been watching with great interest the unfolding controversy over whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) singled out “tea party” groups for special scrutiny.  It’s good to see Attorney General Eric Holder take this issue seriously enough to open an investigation although such an investigation need not be limited to these narrow circumstances. While anyone […]

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Cascadia

5/2/2013 – 11:42 am

The refrigerator died Friday.  It had not been a great week to begin with and although a broken refrigerator is not tragedy, I didn’t need the hassle. Like the immediate hassle of suddenly parceling out what has essentially become the family’s pantry to various neighbors, foods frozen or merely chilled.  Fortunately, we have intimate relations […]

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Live Free and Remember

4/25/2013 – 9:09 am

In the Monday morning edition of my neighborhood listserv, the Five Sisters (aka the Five Snitchers), my melodically-named State Representative Suzi Wizowaty posted a call for opinions on the state’s genetic engineering (GE) labeling bill, being considered under the statehouse dome. She’s for the bill, as are most Vermonters.  Local food is big here and […]

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Rereading an Old Letter

4/18/2013 – 2:49 pm

By Tuesday night I already knew the best decision I would make all week was to reread Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that afternoon. The letter came to the world 50 years ago this week (not exactly published, it was mimeographed at first) and was written in response to an open letter to […]

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Baseball, North of the Border

4/11/2013 – 3:19 pm

I’m in Washington, DC this week and since summer is the oppressive season here, people are bemoaning the 90-degree weather, much as I might be enjoying it after a cold spring in Vermont. This town not only swelters with heat but also with passion for the Washington Nationals, who have (for now) the best record […]

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Black Face, White Face

4/4/2013 – 7:53 am

I didn’t understand what was happening during the Louisville-Duke NCAA tournament game Sunday evening.  Suddenly, all the Louisville players were lying on the court, curled in the fetal position.  The announcers seemed equally confused. Then it became clear: Louisville guard Kevin Ware had gone down in front of his team’s bench, his leg unnaturally twisted.  […]

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Entertaining, Unaware

3/28/2013 – 4:17 pm

I read the Bible.  This seems to irritate everyone. My atheist friends don’t get it; many of them fail to appreciate the book at any level.  That’s a pity, because even if the Bible is just a collection of stories, its echoes are heard throughout western culture.  (Is that hegemonic?  Yep, but that’s the culture […]

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