Columnists

This has nothing to do with Berkeley, the Bay Area, California, or the continental United States. It’s about a species of bird I’ve never seen and that no one may ever see again; about the quirks of taxonomy and the unlikely places that scientific discoveries are made. -more-

I was contacted by a nonprofit agency that espouses the forced treatment of persons with mental illness, which includes forced drugging. In recent editions of this column, I have validated such an idea. Certainly, forcing treatment on those who refuse it and who are also in jeopardy of deteriorating into a dangerous state could stop a lot of tragedies from taking place. -more-

For many Americans, Labor Day marks the end of summer and has little to do with the Labor movement. I wonder what Joe Hill would make of the demise of unions and the struggles of American workers. -more-

Texas Governor Rick Perry, Representative Michele Bachmann, and Representative Ron Paul, three of the leading GOP presidential candidates, are unabashed Darwinian evolution and global warming deniers -- as is the Tea Party Movement. The GOP is in danger of being hi-jacked by these anti-science candidates. -more-

I don’t buy books. I borrow them. From public libraries. Mostly new to me and to the library. I like before>later>after documentaries. Somebody, usually an expert, studies a group of individuals who have something in common and follows up on each. -more-

One of the chief obstacles to intelligence is credulity. Credulity . . . is a greater evil in the present day than it ever was before, because, owing to the growth of education, it is much easier than it used to be to spread misinformation, and, owing to democracy, the spread of misinformation is more important than in former times to the holders of power.

Bertrand Russell (1872—1970) -more-