Opinion

The great pitcher and philosopher Satchel Paige (may he rest in peace) used to say “Don’t look back—something might be gaining on you.” That’s advice I’ve always liked, but once in a while looking back can’t be avoided. Last Saturday Peter and Mary, old and dear friends from Ann Arbor in the 60s, who’ve been in central Pennsylvania even longer than we’ve been in Berkeley, unexpectedly came to town, and we met them at the Farmers Market for a lavish Berkeley breakfast of Blue Bottle coffee and crepes. -more-

Some interesting links to relevant pieces appearing elsewhere: -more-

The Planet has always needed a gossip column, and here's the perfect item to kick it off: -more-

Financial Aid Relief -more-

Dean Metzger's March 23 commentary on the proposed Berkeley Sunshine Ordinance (BSO) provides a summary list of changes it would bring to Berkeley civics in the cause of "open government." Most of them sound indisputably attractive. But as usual the devil is in the details -- the degree and extent of the specific changes -- and what those details add up to for the way we want to manage our city. Almost all of us are for more-open government. But as my mother used to say, more of a good thing is not necessarily a better thing -- not if it goes too far. -more-

The big debate on Bus Rapid Transit in city council has finally begun. The games began in earnest on March 23 in Council chambers when Mr. Bates and possibly others delivered their first stomach blow to the public by scheduling the item in such a way as to guarantee it would not come up until about twenty minutes to midnight, after droves of people had waited four to six hours to speak and many had left. This was acknowledged by councilmember Kriss Worthington, who referred to it as profoundly "disrespectful" to the public, and moved that an entire council meeting be dedicated to this important subject. So, on April 20 at 8pm the public will get their hearing, and on April 27, the Council will vote on whether to submit the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) in its current form to AC Transit for official study in the Environmental Impact Report. -more-

You've heard of me but we've never met. I've been part of America's political landscape for around 60 years. You might call me one of the original Baby Boomers. Like other boomers, I'm at the age when I can expect to look forward to retirement and the enjoyment of my government pension. But I'm not your typical Boomer. -more-

On December 30, 2009, my little boys landed on the planet with pre-existing conditions. They were born at twenty-five weeks of gestation — three months early. They have been in the hospital for the last eighty-two days, racking up a combined sub-total of two million dollars in hospital bills. And that’s just for the first forty-five days. -more-

For almost two years - nomination through fourteen months in office - Barack Obama has occupied center stage. Usually that would be time enough for every interested voter to see where he stands and decide what he’s likely to accomplish. This has not happened. Instead his position is hard to figure out which has no doubt caused his approval ratings to plummet. -more-

I find it humorous to read about the so-called Tea Party movement and their cry to return to core conservative values. Why the outcry now as they work to place more fiscally irresponsible Republicans back in office? -more-

In this short thought piece I repeat the phrase “food sovereignty“ a few times to see if it can replace “food security,” “food choice,” “slow food,” “gourmet food,” and “sustainable agriculture.” -more-

As a mentally ill and yet hopefully a studious person, I have had some exposure to Carl Jung’s philosophy both through reading some of his books and talking with Jungian therapists. Some of his ideas are applicable to phenomena occurring in Obama’s presidency. -more-