From Big Think, theoretical physicist (and prolific author) Alan Lightman explains the theme of his essay collection The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew [the link is to Amazon’s page for the Kindle edition]. The short version: For hundreds of years we have assumed that our universe is a necessary consequence of fundamental […]

This article in the L.A. Times, “Republican rifts mean more gridlock, obstacles for Obama” reminded me of something I’ve been meaning to post about. After the 2010 census many congressional districts were ruthlessly gerrymandered (News With Numbers), for all practical purposes locking in one party or another’s ownership of that house seat for the foreseeable […]

I’m updating my theme and things will be messy for a few days. I know, it’s awful.

(BBC) Occupy Oakland protestors, acting on a call for a general strike made a week ago, shut down the Port of Oakland for a day. Violence erupted as night fell, with the city reporting that the violence was caused by “a group of anarchists”, not the Occupy Oakland protestors. Some protestors returned the favor by […]

Yesterday, at the beginning of their annual goal-setting retreat, some members of Boulder City Council publically questioned the wisdom of considering an emergency ordinance that would allow camping in public places in Boulder. The action was taken in responce to intense lobbying by 60 or so members of the “homeless community”[1], many telling heart-wrenching stories, […]