Looking back on nearly 92 years, what am I proud of? Well, one thing is that I had the courage not use chapstick. I toughed it out.
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Thursday, June 18, 2026
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Tale from Long Ago
A TALE FROM LONG AGO
After two weeks Adam said he felt lonely in the Garden of Eden. It was like being lost in the woods, he said. Everyone used to fear getting lost in the woods. But you aren't lost if someone is with you. So Adam asked El (that was the Creator's original name) if he could have a companion.
El enjoyed a negotiation. He liked to argue. "So now you are afraid of trees?"
"Not exactly."
"Of course I can make you a companion," El said, "but it's expensive. If you want something nimble, amiable and female, that will cost you a leg."
"A leg? You want to take off one of my legs? I have to hunt and gather. You made me that way. I spend my life walking around looking for food."
"Of course. You need the leg. So what can you afford to give up?"
Adam thought for a few minutes and then said. "What can I get for a toe nail?"
"Pete Hegseth."
"That's not right!"
"If you're asking for certain unalienable rights," the Creator said, "you'll have to throw in rapid tooth decay."
"Fine," Adam said. "Fine. What can I get for a rib?"
Sunday, June 7, 2026
Graham Platner
In two days, in a primary, the Democrats in Maine will make Graham Platner their candidate for the Senate. They like him.
If Platner wins in November, the Democrats might take control of the Senate and Supreme Court nominees . But some principled out-of-state Democrats are on TV campaigning against Platner.
Graham Platner is a high-school graduate and combat veteran. He's currently an oyster farmer, a working-class white man, the sort of voter the Democrats lost touch with under the Clintons.
So far Republicans and some Democrats have accused Platner of being a Communist, a Fascist and a toxic date. He has admitted that he once made failed attempts to cheat on his wife.
Maine voters are going to choose in November between Platner and Republican Susan Collins, a Phi Beta Kappa supporter of Donald Trump.
Like many I find some transgressions unforgivable. If Platner were guilty of hitting a woman, raping someone or persecuting a Jew, I would not vote for him (if I lived in Maine). But he has not been accused of those crimes. He has been accused of troubling unorthodoxy, dating toxicity, a really bad grasp of symbolism and not being upper middle-class.
Obama (and FDR) drew support from voters like Platner, men who had not attended Yale, men who ate spaghetti without twirling it on a spoon.
Often voters who work with their hands decide nominations and elections. If I were a Democrat, I would, like FDR, seek their support. But I belong to no party.
Just saying.
s
Friday, June 5, 2026
Ozymandias
Shelley had Trump's number
"And on the pedestal, these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Thursday, June 4, 2026
The Good Country
There are about 195 countries in the world. Each nation is mostly ruled by a small group that controls a large share of the wealth and power. This description fits dictatorships, Marxist or Fascist regimes, kingdoms, Denmark and capitalist democracies in general.
In the better nations ordinary people have some power, but there is no country where classes of people share wealth or power evenly.
All countries protect their ruling class, but some counties are easier than others to live in.
Systematic control is baked-in to 195 nations. In America if a late night comic annoys the 1%, a rich man will buy the corporation that owns the corporation that owns the TV network, then fire the comic. If a news show runs the wrong expose, a billionaire will buy the network and hire a woman to fire any woman who disagrees with plutocrats.
It's all legal in the system we created. So far it's not up for discussion.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Psychotic
Donald Trump, now comparing himself to Jesus, Napoleon and Alexander the Great, has lost more of his connection to reality.
If, as expected, the Democrats win the House in the next election, our president will become more frustrated than he is now. Trump is delusional. His thinking is disorganized. He does not grasp that some of his experiences aren't real. He listens to no advisor.
Our flimsy media continue to talk politics as usual, speculating about who can flip what seat, when faced with madness and a possible disaster.
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Walter
My father's uncle and aunt, Frank and Peg Dezarn, raised an adopted son, Walter Bligh (or Bly). In World War II he was shot down by the Japanese over Borneo.
I was probably about seven the last time I saw Walter. I don't remember what he was like, but I must be the last person who does remember him.
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Vet
Vet, my great-grandfather, an iron monger I barely remember, believed that a hospital was a place you went to die.
When he was very old, he began to have trouble breathing. His two daughters and ancient wife from Westmeath decided to drive him over to Las Campanas, a private hospital on Compton Boulevard. Margaret, my mother, had worked there as a receptionist, and I had been born there.
Vet refused to go, but the three women pushed the old fellow into their car. Vet began pleading through the window, asking my mother to save him.
My young mother had no say in the matter. Vet ended up in the hospital, where he died. She never forgave herself. As Voltaire put it, each of us is guilty of all the good he did not do.
I recently tried to learn what had happened to Las Companas hospital, which had included a locally famous drug treatment sanitarium. I used the tools available, including a form of artificial intelligence, but ended up with nothing but a photograph of the place taken in 1940 and a sentence saying the property had been turned into a subdivision.
Sunday, May 17, 2026
sizes
America's tallest president was Lincoln. At 6'4" He loomed above Lyndon Johnson, our number two. Third tallest is Donald Trump, listed at 6'3". Compare that to Xi Jinping, leader of China, listed at 5'9" to 5'11".
Last week we saw Trump and Xi side by side on television. They looked about the same. Xi seemed a hair or two taller than Trump. Xi must actually be 6'3" or 6'4", not 5'9". The Chinese have misled us. There's no other explanation.
By the way, Winston Churchill was 5'6" around the waist.
| Xi Jinping | China | 175–180 cm (5′9″–5′11″) |
| Kim Jong Un | North Korea | 163–170 cm (5′4″–5′7″) |
Saturday, May 16, 2026
Candidates
The DSA of Sonoma County, a chapter of the political organization supported by Bernie Sanders, AOC and New York City Mayor Mamdani, has sorted out some of the candidates in the June election. Their recommendations and reasoning are quoted below.
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This voter guide is intended to help Sonoma County DSA members and allies make informed decisions when they go to the ballot box for the June 2nd primary election. Our recommendations are voted on by the electoral committee, which is open to all members. If you want to get involved in future elections work, please join a meeting or chime in on Discord!
In this guide, we are focused primarily on local offices and measures where we believe our recommendations can have the biggest impact. We know it can be hard to find meaningful background and context for small local races, and have attempted to provide it here. We have a special excitement for the District 2 County Supervisor race where our endorsed candidate Joanna Paun is running!
Where relevant, we’ve covered several races for state office, though State Offices are covered by California DSA as well. We urge you to check out the California DSA voter guide to learn more.
County Offices
SoCo DSA Endorses: Joanna Paun for County Supervisor, 2nd District
We are proud to share that Joanna Paun, the grassroots pick for 2nd District County Supervisor, is a SoCo DSA member and our first endorsed candidate! A democratic socialist running on progressive policies and a people-first approach to politics, she has an impressive background and is backed by the people, not regional corporate interests. She has earned endorsements from many other local progressive organizations and people, including: SEIU 1021, California Working Families Party, Teamsters Local 665, and CA Assembly Members Damon Connolly and Chris Rogers.
Paun currently serves as a Petaluma School Board Trustee and works as Sonoma County’s foster and homeless youth education coordinator. A mother of four, she has been a Petaluma resident for 20 years, and has a professional background in counseling.
In brief, some of Paun’s progressive priorities include:
Ending Sonoma County's cooperation with ICE
Lowering the cost of living and delivering affordable housing
Fixing our roads, waterlines, and aging infrastructure
Safeguarding health care and hospitals from the Trump administration’s funding cuts Improving mental health care services in schools
Context and Policies
Sonoma County needs a County Supervisor that prioritizes the safety of all residents. Joanna Paun is the only District 2 candidate committed to ending Sonoma County’s cooperation with ICE, which the current Board of Supervisors has refused to do. At present, Chris Coursey (District 3) is the only supervisor in support of publicly asking for non-cooperation. If we elect Joanna Paun and Melanie Bagby to office, three out of five supervisors in 2027, a majority, will be in agreement on this.
Paun’s campaign intends to address a catalog of other important issues impacting our county. She has committed to address the housing crisis by building affordable housing in the district. She intends to link county funds and services to public schools in the community, easing the burden on schools struggling to provide these services to at-risk youth. In a breath of fresh air compared to current District 2 Supervisor Rabbit’s accountability issues, Paun is committed to open and accessible meetings with the community in order to bring transparency to local decision-making.
Opponents
There are three other competitors in the race: John King and Shelina Moreda, whose campaigns lean conservative, and Sylvia Lemus, who is also running a left-leaning campaign (with several important caveats).
Although Lemus has a somewhat progressive background as Cotati’s mayor, she entered the race only after being recruited by Rob Muelrath, a political consultant and corporate lobbyist finagling tax breaks and labor loopholes for corporations such as Walmart, Dutra, and PG&E. Some local discussions have characterized Lemus as the more experienced candidate due to her time as mayor of Cotati. As regards this claim, we would like to note that Joanna Paun’s seven years of experience on the Petaluma School Board (versus Lemus’s four years as mayor) means she has spent nearly twice as much time in local government making decisions about a school system with a budget several times that of the town of Cotati.
Of note regarding the conservative candidates in the race: King unequivocally supports Sonoma County’s cooperation with ICE. Moreda’s constant punting on issues and odd decision to lie about her age to the Press Democrat reveal her to be obfuscatory about her background and policy goals.
SoCo DSA Recommends: Melanie Bagby for County Supervisor, 4th District
The only candidate taking a firm stance against the Trump administration, endorsed by the North Bay Labor Council, SEIU, Working Families Party, Latino PAC of Sonoma County, and Sonoma County Conservation Action. She has progressive goals aiming for a sustainable environment and economy.
Bagby’s priorities include:
Protect our community and immigrant neighbors from Trump administration policies Defend voter-approved civilian oversight of law enforcement.
Build mutual-aid capacity for climate resilience and disaster response
Lead on the housing crisis and homelessness, water security, clean energy, and transportation
Champion family agriculture, local food systems, small business, and job training
Competitors
Bagby’s opponents are Todd Lands and Tom Schwedhelm. Both are retired Law Enforcement officers (Sonoma Sheriff & Santa Rosa Police) endorsed by big ag, big business, and policing- related organizations, such as the Cloverdale and Santa Rosa Police Officers’ Associations respectively. These candidates’ backgrounds in policing suggest that they would be unlikely to implement oversight of the Sheriff’s office.
State Office
SoCo DSA Recommends: Jackie Elward for Member of the State Assembly, 12th District
Jackie Elward is running a progressive campaign with addressing the climate crisis and defending our communities from the Trump administration top of the list. She has served as mayor and vice-mayor of Rohnert Park, and is a proud labor organizer, educator, and immigrant. Her impressive achievements in Rohnert Park local government include establishing housing-first solutions to homelessness and increasing building of affordable homes.
Among other progressive policies, Elward supports:
Universal healthcare
Expansion of Medicare within California Affordable housing
Anti-ICE
In a field filled with candidates clamoring for the title of “progressive,” Jackie stands head and shoulders above her opponents on the issues true progressives care about. She has gained endorsements from the Working Families Party, the North Bay Labor Council, the California Federation of Labor Unions, along with many other progressive organizations.
Competitors
Elward has four competitors running as Democrats. Several of these competitors support Israel despite the genocide in Gaza and current invasion of Lebanon, which runs counter to our values in the DSA. As the world’s fourth largest economy, California has the ability to help end these actions by divesting and sanctioning Israel for its actions. Electing politicians who oppose Israel’s actions takes us a step further towards ending the atrocities and achieving justice for its victims.
Eric Lucan, the most viable candidate running against Elward, is supported by corporate democrats such as Adam Schiff and Jared Huffman. He has been unwilling to criticize Israel’s numerous and recent war-crimes, and has been skittish about calling the genocide in the Gaza Strip what it is: a genocide. Though he pays lip service to progressive ideals, especially in regards to LGBTQ rights, he does not support universal healthcare and leans more toward austerity measures than taxing the wealthy.
Ballot Measures
Depending on where you live, several ballot measures related to school district funding and SMART train funding may be on your ballot. We recommend the following:
Measure A - Vote YES
Renews the previously approved educational parcel tax of $89 per year per parcel to provide funding for the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District. Maintains locally-controlled funding without increasing tax rates to keep the schools running smoothly. Voting yes maintains this important source of funding for our schools, which brings in $1,300,000 annually. Funding for local public education is important!
Measure B - Vote YES
Renews the previously approved 1⁄4 cent sales tax for 30 years to fund the SMART train and bicycle/pedestrian pathway services. This measure extends an important, existing tax that allows SMART—essential infrastructure for seniors, youth, essential workers, and low-income households—to maintain service for Sonoma county residents.
Measure C - Vote YES
Adopts an educational parcel tax of $49 per year per parcel to provide funding for the Bellevue Union School District. Provides funding for STEM programs, library programs, and maintains arts and phys ed programs. Voting yes creates a vital source of locally-controlled funding and will raise $350,000 annually.
Other Recommendations
California DSA recommends several state assembly and state senate candidates with strong progressive values and backgrounds. While not locally relevant, we do recommend you read the CA DSA voter guide for the following candidates:
Chris Rogers - Member of the State Assembly, 2nd district Audrey Denney - United States Representative, CA-1 Damon Connolly - State Senate, District 2
Friday, May 15, 2026
Reconstruction
Once President Grant left office, Southern whites immediately suppressed black voters, murdering defiant people and instituting Jim Crow laws that lasted about 100 years.
We are now reverting to Jim Crow in most but not all red states, still fighting over who won the Civil War. The morons on the Supreme Court made this bigotry legal, but the erring red states did not have to bring back Jim Crow. They recognized the opportunity and volunteered.
s
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Fletcherism
In an effort to gain attention (maybe, who knows), I began eating too fast. The result was that my throat would fill up with half-chewed food, creating a blockage at about the collarbone level. I'd have to go someplace and throw up.
Today I met with my doctor's assistant, a fine person, and she listened as I described how I could cure my problem by adopting the tenets of Fletcherism. I had encountered the orations of Horace Fletcher early in life, and now was the time to use what I knew.
Around 1900, Fletcher had made a good living by touring the world and explaining to people how to chew food.
I explained to my patient PA that what I need to do on the future is chew each bite of food 32 to 100 times, until it liquifies. I can rely on saliva to break down food. The longer I chew, the longer the taste will last. It's a win-win.
Okay, Horace Fletcher was cracked, but he was more or less right.
You can find him on YouTube.
Monday, May 11, 2026
How We Learn
The more important things you learn in life, you learn on your own. No one taught you that physical objects exist . No music teacher told you that it's okay to stare at a charming person if he's playing the ukulele.
Friday, May 8, 2026
Jabba
Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote, "Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice."
Donald Trump is malicious and also stupid, and he can't manage to end his illegal war against Iran.
The president cannot cope with complexity. Ordering the American military to attack Iran was, for him, a simple matter. After issuing the order, he likely ate four cheeseburgers and went to play golf, where he cheated and set a new course record.
After a week or two, the Iran war seemed to became complex. In that situation, Trump attempts to frame things simply so that he can make quick yes or no decisions.
He does not want real allies, who complicate matters; he wants obedient ass-kissers.
Trump could not put together a genuine alliance with his own icy wife.
If he really must deal with something complicated, he revises the problem until it's simple, small and false.
He doesn't care for the Pope, he claimed recently, because the Pope wants Iran to have nuclear weapons.
After three weeks Trump lost interest in the Iran war. He turned to building himself a gigantic ballroom, patterned after his grandfather's Seattle house of the rising sun. Every delightful ballroom decision would be Trump's to make alone, down to the brand of toothpaste in the hidden presidential bunker.
Meanwhile the loony Iran war has turned static. Just a few people killed each day. Trump's attention seems to be drifting toward religion. Now he's pretending, like J. D. Vance, to be a Christian!
Saturday, May 2, 2026
DNA DOES NOT LIE
White skin and blue eyes developed between 10,000 to 40,000 years ago in Northern Europe
The white race as a human category was invented, as I understand it, about 300 years ago. The science of the time categorized plants and animals by lumping together things that looked similar. And that worked pretty well.
Science after World War II divided humans into three to five races (I learned that while studying anthropology at UCLA in the 1950s).
About 30 years ago the Human Diversity Genome Project began to sort humans by DNA, not by appearance. It turned out that the continent with the most diverse DNA was Africa, the continent of human origin. That makes sense; Africans had the most time to diverge from one another.
Scientists realized that when an African tribe set off to explore a new continent, they could take with them only a small part of the greatly varied DNA in Africa. Today, the farther you get from Africa, the less the DNA diversity.
Today a black tribal woman in Africa may share more DNA with the King of Sweden than she does with another black woman in another tribe who lives on the opposite bank of her river.
Our constructed racial categories are contradicted by DNA.
According to biology, human races, as we use the term, do not exist. Racism still exists (for example, on the Supreme Court).
There is no DNA justification for distributing power and wealth on the basis of colors--but you know that.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
86
I first encountered the term "86" in the early 1960s. I once went to Barney's Beanery, a famous low-rent joint in Hollywood. This dump had a sign behind the bar--I won't repeat the wording--that crudely informed customers that gay customers would not be served. About that time a known character actor saw the sign and told the server off. I did not witness this, but I heard later that the actor had been 86-ed.
86-ing someone or something has several meanings, but the main meaning is that you are refusing service to somebody. You are banning somebody.
None of the meanings imply violence.
That 86 implies assassination is outrageous bullshit made up by Crybaby Trump.
"86" commonly means to discard, cancel, or refuse service to something or someone. Origins and uses:
- Restaurant/bar slang: to mark an item as sold out or to refuse service to a customer.
- General slang: to get rid of, remove, or cancel something (e.g., "86 the plan").
- Verb and noun: can be used as "to 86" (verb) or "an 86" (noun, meaning the person/item removed).
Possible origins (uncertain, several theories): shortened bartender jargon, rhyming slang, military codes, or menu numbering; no single proven source.
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