Columnists

“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.” -more-

When Democrats quit celebrating their victory in the mid-term elections and begin to consider their priorities for the 110th Congress, they need look no further than Iraq. The basic issues that plague Iraq--security, infrastructure, and governance--are the same that beset the United States. Due to a devastating combination of managerial ineptitude and ideological inflexibility, the Bush administration has lost Iraq and severely damaged the United States. They couldn’t stop the looting there and refuse to stop the looting here. -more-

It’s doubtful that politics brings out more silliness in the human character than any other human endeavor—it just seems that politicians, and the people they employ, seem so much more intent than anyone else on broadcasting the odd things that are sometimes on their minds. -more-

Dear Matt, -more-

I just had to ask. The charming young salesperson at Berkeley Indoor Garden did have list of what, other than the obvious, customers grow using B.I.G.’s wares: orchids and other tropicals, carnivorous plants, some rare and picky succulents, sometimes lettuce and herbs and baby greens just to have them handy. -more-

Have You Met Your Neighbors? -more-

I’ve never had so many visitors in my life. Within hours of Ralph’s death, my friend Ann arrived from Idaho. My parents flew in from the East Coast, and in a few days the house was full: a brother from Minnesota and another from New Jersey, Ralph’s twin from San Diego and an ex sister-in-law from Seattle. More followed: people I hadn’t seen in years, friends of friends, former co-workers, links with the distant and not-so-distant past. Most had known Ralph when he could walk, move his fingers and toes, pick up a sandwich and take a bite, swing a hammer over his head, or expertly read a backcountry ski map. It was both wonderful and sad—consoling to see so many friends, disappointing not to have Ralph here to share in their visits. -more-

Only about an hour’s travel southwest of Berkeley, there’s a little piece of bayside nature where you can view some seldom-seen native treasures, learn about the Bay Area’s natural environment, and appreciate the ongoing struggle to save it. -more-

Another season has come and gone, and I still have not connected with the tarantulas of the East Bay Hills. Mount Diablo in October was supposed to be a sure thing. So I hiked about a mile up Mitchell Canyon at dusk, scanning the trail ahead for dark objects that might be wandering male tarantulas. (Dusk and dawn are when the questing males are most active, and dawn was not in the cards.) But all the dark objects turned out to be pinecones or piles of horsecrap. -more-