Quality of Life | Unexpected Leisure

February 5, 2013February 3, 2013

Government By Stuff

I have always critiqued those arguing for small government because in my viewed, cutting government just to cut it can have disasterous consequences. One must in all fairness ask whether those who argue for few possessions are open to the same critique. Read more [...]

January 28, 2013January 28, 2013

A Reassessment

Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is a well-known sign of insanity. It will also drive a sane person to madness. I must conserve what sanity I have left. Read more [...]

July 29, 2012May 6, 2013

On the Duty of Fiscal Disobedience

OWS stated implicitly and explicitly that Washington, DC though full of sound and fury, signifies nothing. The nationâ€™s true political center of gravity is no longer Washington, but Wall Street. Read more [...]

December 25, 2011

Christmas, Then and Now

This is one of many reasons why Christmas is as relevant today as ever. As we descend into the election season, we see the parade of candidates, would-be charlatans and pretenders to the throne, many wrapping themselves in a cloak of corrosive, self-righteous piety. Meanwhile in city after city, nation after nation, nonviolent people fill the streets on behalf of the dispossessed, forcefully urging, nudging, pressing us all towards a better world. Read more [...]

December 16, 2011

What the State of Our Health Care System Means to the Unemployed

When you lose your job, you have to replace lost resources by improvising. Many options exist for essentials such as food and shelter. Health care is different. In many situations, no amount of cleverness or commitment to self-sufficiency will see you through. Read more [...]

November 24, 2011

A Minimalist Thanksgiving

You're not trying to feed the whole block, so don't try. Overindulgence sounds like fun until you actually do it. Make enough for nibbling afterward plus some leftovers. You want to enjoy yourselves. Read more [...]

September 27, 2011

Can you Make It on 8 Bucks An Hour?

Next time one of your smarmy friends or family members tells you how lazy the poor have it, how they get by with doing nothing and don't need to get any help from government, challenge them to walk that talk--digitally. Read more [...]

August 26, 2011August 27, 2011

DIY Medical Care?

This raises a question. Just how much health care can you do on your own? What's the threshold for practicing medicine without a license? Obviously, applying a band-aid is okay, but a home liver transplant is not. Nor is prescribing controlled medications. But in between those areas, more or less, there is a lot one can do. Read more [...]

August 22, 2011August 22, 2011

Refugees of Unemployment

He said that the edge that came off most of the candidates was unsettling to him and no matter how confident or outgoing or friendly an interviewee was many of them displayed the same subtle body language and speech ticks he had come to recognize in refugees fifteen years ago. Read more [...]

August 21, 2011

Reconnecting and the State of the World

The big question is, "What next? What will happen? What should happen?" I don't have any more answers than the next person, but in the coming weeks I hope to restart things here and press on about what kind of future we can build for ourselves and each other. Read more [...]