Monthly Archives: December 2012

Lunatic of the Year

Not to offend Wayne LaPierre’s friends over at the American Psychiatric Association, but this country gets a little more psychotic every year. It isn’t just the economy that’s headed for a cliff, so is our grasp on reality. Consider Sarah Brady, the NRA leadership and Sen. Lindsey Graham. Until John Hinckley came along, Sarah Brady […]

Boy on the Trampoline

I moved to Portland a couple of summers ago, and shortly after settling in, I noticed a repetitive noise coming from a neighbor’s yard. It sounded like a soft, rhythmic bouncing: Squeeja-squeeja-squeeja-squeeja. It would go on throughout much of the day. A tall wooden fence separated my backyard from the neighbor’s. I peered through a […]

The Universe of What’s Possible

Frank Rizzo, tough cop and former Philadelphia mayor, coined a phrase that has become a popular myth: “A conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged the night before.” No, a liberal who’s been mugged is probably still a liberal – but with an appreciation for what it’s really like to be mugged. This is a […]