Columnists

Global Climate Change affects every part of the United States. In California, there are two major climate-change consequences: ferocious wildfires and drought. When I lived in a city (Berkeley) i felt somewhat immune from these problems. Now that I live in the country (West Sonoma County) the impact is more obvious. This year we're having a water crisis.

When we bought our rural property, we didn't think much about our water supply. We had a well and all our neighbors had wells. Then, several summers ago, we learned that some of our neighbors' wells had failed and they were having water trucked in.

The water situation in California is VERY complicated, but millions of Golden-State families rely upon groundwater wells and, this summer, many of these are drying up. (Roughly one-third of California's 40 million residents rely upon groundwater for their household needs.) This is happening throughout the state but is most critical in the eastern part of the Central valley -- roughly the area that extends from Sacramento to Bakersfield. -more-

Author's Note: This week's column describes a very painful and sensitive subject that could be traumatizing to some readers. It discusses premature death of mentally ill people. This is not intended to be read by anyone unprepared for discussion of this subject. -more-

Even though the various claims of evidence alleging a stolen 2020 election — “The Big Lie” — have been exhaustively investigated and litigated and found wanting, a May 12, 2021 PRRI Survey found that 38% of Republicans, 12% of Independents and 2% of Democrats completely agree the election was stolen, and 28% of Republicans, 15% of Independents and 2% of Democrats mostly agree. -more-

A Memorial Day for the Victims of Washington's Wars

The New York City chapter of Veterans For Peace (V4P) raises an interesting question: "What would Memorial Day look like if we commemorated all the victims of war, and not just the military fallen from our own country? What would it be like to honor all the dead and acknowledge all the destruction wrought around the world by US military actions?" -more-