RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Syria: Several Options, all of them Lousy
Humanitarian crises tug at the heartstrings. The pennies-a-day campaigns of CARE have been working on TV since Lassie was a pup. ASPCA cranks up the Sara MacLachlan songs on... |
Tom Cushing |
212 |
4 |
on May 18, 2013 at 6:52 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Sustainability 2: Green Tyranny?
According to one popular philosopher, “Life moves pretty fast.” But has the world really gone from ‘Silent Spring’ to ‘Green Tyranny’ in three generations? Some folks would ... |
Tom Cushing |
258 |
2 |
on May 10, 2013 at 9:59 am by Citizen Paine, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Respect your food, and know from whence it came
If you knew that other animals experience ‘human’ emotions, and that they act with what we call moral sense, would that knowledge change your view of how they ought to be trea... |
Tom Cushing |
518 |
9 |
on May 7, 2013 at 5:38 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
W(h)ither Voting Rights?
Human nature being competitive and ethically flexible, if voting was essential to the invention of democracy, could vote-rigging have been far behind? Nope. There is eviden... |
Tom Cushing |
517 |
10 |
on May 7, 2013 at 6:50 am by Mr Know-it-all, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
What have we learned (so far) from Boston?
The nation can now catch its collective breath, in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing and speedy, live capture of at least one perp. We'll now enter a much longer an... |
Tom Cushing |
409 |
7 |
on Apr 27, 2013 at 3:15 pm by American, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Sustainability 1: The Commons
Picture in your mind’s eye a thriving medieval farm village. Each household owns its personal plot of land for tilling, and there’s a large common area – The Commons – on whi... |
Tom Cushing |
478 |
3 |
on Apr 17, 2013 at 8:59 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Supremes should play the Prop 8 case 'straight'
The cause of gay rights is a generational thing. That is, if you’re over 60, your synapses may have ossified to the point where you can’t get past the unfamiliarity of homosex... |
Tom Cushing |
591 |
17 |
on Apr 4, 2013 at 11:51 am by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Brill’s Pill, Distilled
I’ve admired Steven Brill since our much shaggier days; his early, spot-on exposee of the Teamsters was an act of journalistic courage. He has recently faced an even more form... |
Tom Cushing |
729 |
5 |
on Mar 28, 2013 at 5:17 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Your Hopes for the Pope?
“May God forgive you!” were the first words spoken by Pope Francis, to the conclave of Cardinals that had just elected him Pontiff. Although that may not have been any more t... |
Tom Cushing |
613 |
2 |
on Mar 28, 2013 at 6:53 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
China’s Other Hobby
News that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has been seeking to liberate data from all manner of American computing systems has dominated the high-tech news this week. I’m... |
Tom Cushing |
774 |
16 |
on Mar 7, 2013 at 10:31 pm by Dave, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Valentine’s week: spit and vinegar?
Romantic that I am during this week devoted to love -- set between the birthday celebrations of our two greatest statesmen -- I was hoping for a thaw in the chilly conjugal re... |
Tom Cushing |
652 |
2 |
on Feb 20, 2013 at 7:00 am by Seuss Apologia, a resident of another community |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
The Rise of the Drones
If you had reliable intelligence on the location of an Al Qaeda lieutenant in remote Pakistan, and a Hellfire-equipped drone handy, would you kill him with it? What if he was... |
Tom Cushing |
725 |
8 |
on Feb 9, 2013 at 7:16 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Stats or Stories?
"Human beings," a famous paleontologist once said, "are the primates who tell stories." Indeed, as we learn more about tool use and moral behavior as practiced by other specie... |
Tom Cushing |
640 |
4 |
on Feb 8, 2013 at 8:20 pm by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
The Details: Devils or Angels?
Last week, we learned that there is, indeed, now a fundamental right for individuals to keep and bear arms, supplied by the US Supreme Court in 2008 and 2010 (the precedents, ... |
Tom Cushing |
611 |
13 |
on Feb 4, 2013 at 11:54 pm by Dave, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Absolute, on the rocks
Wow – and I’m referring not to the privately paid-for Inaugural gown, which was stunning enough, but did anyone happen to catch the actual Inaugural speech – especially since ... |
Tom Cushing |
531 |
5 |
on Jan 28, 2013 at 6:07 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Mudbath, Redux?
Well, I was all set to write something about Executive Orders, and how there have been almost 14,000 of them -- hoping to comfort the nervous and/or trigger-happy. Those Orde... |
Tom Cushing |
912 |
13 |
on Jan 25, 2013 at 3:46 pm by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Solving Medicare: Short and Long-term
On the assumption, perhaps dubious, that sanity may prevail and the House will take the debt-ceiling hostage gun from its own head, let’s look forward to other matters. I jus... |
Tom Cushing |
949 |
11 |
on Jan 15, 2013 at 8:42 am by Citizen Paine, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
2012: The Year in Verse
-- with apologies all around.
'Tis more or less New Year's, and all 'round the 'Ville,
You will now be subjected to bad dogger-el.
The year just completed we'll stumbl... |
Tom Cushing |
669 |
11 |
on Jan 8, 2013 at 6:47 am by Anonymous, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Horrific Toll. Simple Truth.
With the ancient Mayans now universally exposed as bad-at-math, it falls to me to write this week’s column. It will be brief, but heart-felt, and, I suspect, not uncontrovers... |
Tom Cushing |
1210 |
4 |
on Dec 26, 2012 at 11:13 am by cardinal, a resident of the Diablo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
RC Holiday Bonus: Vote for the Best Fiscal Ciffhanger!
If you'll return with us now to the tales of yesterweek, you may recall that the Concord Coalition's game of Principles and Priorities invites players to resolve the Fiscal ... |
Tom Cushing |
586 |
4 |
on Dec 23, 2012 at 10:41 am by The AlaMojos, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Food Stamps Food Fight
As I wandered the web a few days ago, this dust-up between CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien and Senator Jeff Sessions caught my ear: http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12... |
Tom Cushing |
630 |
3 |
on Dec 19, 2012 at 7:08 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Squaring the Pentagon
I think we can all agree that the single most fundamental duty of government is to provide for the national defense, from which all else flows. It is a testament to the succe... |
Tom Cushing |
681 |
6 |
on Dec 12, 2012 at 1:31 pm by spcwt, a resident of the Danville neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Fiscal Cliff-diving: Play the Principles and Priorities Game (with Prizes!)
Okay, we all know that Congress is in disrepute with The Electorate -- otherwise, why would we have returned so many Incumbents to their seats in the Capitol? We also harbor ... |
Tom Cushing |
758 |
3 |
on Dec 3, 2012 at 11:24 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Belly Button Lint
It’s navel gazing season again, as it is in the wake of every general election. Both sides are analyzing the results of this month’s electoral festivities, from very differen... |
Tom Cushing |
3539 |
9 |
on Dec 1, 2012 at 9:24 am by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
RAUCOUS CAUCUS
Of Petraeus and Portia
This has been a big week for empathy in my household -- starting with the elections, as we watched those who lost bear-up bravely under crushing disappointments. My week a... |
Tom Cushing |
733 |
5 |
on Nov 15, 2012 at 8:07 pm by Tom Cushing, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood |
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