Category Archives: Commentary

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 weave red, […]

By floegel | 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 labor […]

By floegel | 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 or Washington State […]

By floegel | 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 | 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 | Comments (0)

In My Life

5/25/2006 – 4:08 pm

Tuesday’s local newspaper said May 2006 was the wettest on record – over six and half inches and eight days to go before the end of the month. We’ve had rain since and we’re supposed to have more tomorrow and Saturday. It’s depressing for us all and especially hard on the lady down the block […]

By floegel | Comments (0)

By Any Other Name

5/18/2006 – 3:18 pm

If Bill Clinton’s contribution to the American political dictionary was a redefinition of the word “adulterer,” because what he did with “that young woman” wasn’t really cheating, then George W. Bush’s contribution is a redefinition of “totalitarian,” because he claims his lying to and spying on citizens, is really all in our best interest. (Come […]

By floegel | Comments (0)