Government: I believe that government of and by the people is not necessarily government for the people. We don’t usually know much at all about the representatives we choose, and we don’t understand most of the issues they vote on. The language of bills is written by people trained in law; it is not a language most Americans…
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Fran Frey sang 26 sides for George Olsen’s band in the 1920s and early 30s. I got this obit from Ancestry.com; registration is required, so I signed in and downloaded this clip from the Los Angeles Times of December 8, 1962. Note: Fran’s is the second obit of the two.

It’s hard to break old habits. With all the fun things we can do just sitting around the house, it’s not an easy thing to tell yourself that you have to keep the weight off if you want to stay healthy. It’s not easy because there are no shortcuts. Eat less, move more. What motivates…
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When I was 5, my family went to West Virginia on vacation. We took a ride on the then-new Cass Scenic Railroad. I bought a 45rpm record and played it till the grooves were gray. It was lost probably in 1966 in the various moves of my life.  You wouldn’t expect to find something so obscure…
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Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick My rating: 5 of 5 stars It is quite fashionable, here in 2013, to say of this novel that it is “rather uneven, with a messy plot.” Flow My Tears came out in 1974, just before he flipped his lid (in my opinion) and wrote…
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This is such a travesty of justice that it beggars words sufficient for description. Untold numbers of children cried out in prayer, some perhaps even to Pope John Paul II, hoping for some sort of companionship, even if only spiritual, to ease the sense of shame and self-loathing experienced by those who were abused by…
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I’m putting this here because, well, it’s MY blog and I love this music.

Somebody on scotusblog.com was just talking about the “historic” nature of the decision on the Voting Rights Act. The headline on HuffPo says “Supremes Gut Voting Rights Act.” As usual, it’s reasonable to assume that the noise will drown out the truth. I find it personally distasteful that I should find myself not automatically retching at the…
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The whole point of the suit was to show that Rumsfeld had, in fact, given orders for torture. That his subordinates engaged in it is not debatable; but that was not being argued. The plaintiffs did not get a chance to try their case, which was to bring forth evidence showing Donald Rumsfeld to be…
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