When Life Starts to Improve
Leo Tolstoy, Spiritual Writings, edited by Charles E. Moore Prophetic witness consists of human deeds of justice and kindness that attend to the unjust sources of human hurt and misery. It calls attention to the…
Category: Activists
Encouragement
You will have to go on discriminating and make a sustained effort to convince your mind of the fact that japa, meditation, and all other spiritual exercises, have for purpose your awakening. On this pilgrimage…
And What If No One Is Looking on and Applauding?
William D Miller, A Harsh and Dreadful Love: Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement After reading and discussing The Brothers Karamazov with 12 friends in 2021, I finally read William Miller’s 1973 history of…
Problematizing My Faves: Matt Taibbi on Howard Zinn
The worst thing is to claim to be objective. Of course, you can’t be. Historians should say what their values are, what they care about, what their background is, and let you know what is…
Problematizing My Faves: Susie Linfield on Noam Chomsky
Dear Max, The following passages are from Susie Linfield’s book, The Lions’ Den: Zionism and the Left from Hannah Arendt to Noam Chomsky. While the focus is on Middle East matters, you may see some…
Andrew Wimmer
Advocate of Whitmanian adhesiveness, instigator of Stop Torture Now, critic of power and its minions, exemplar of generosity and hospitality par excellence, Andrew Wimmer has enriched and expanded my life for 25 years. You’ll come…
Problematizing My Faves: A Conservative Remembers Allen Ginsberg
Norman Podhoretz, Ex-Friends: Falling out with Allen Ginsberg, Lionel & Diana Trilling, Lillian Hellman, Hannah Arendt, and Norman Mailer In a recent post, I acknowledged finally paying closer attention to the second precept of Thich…
Ralph Nader
As consumer advocate par excellence, Ralph Nader has improved the quality of life of millions of American citizens. As gadfly of the presumedly immutable two-party system, he has aroused the wrath of the powerful. He…
What Rubem Said to Maria Evelina
Yes, Raquel’s birth was a purifying experience in that it empowered me to say, “this is important,” and the rest becomes blurred. Her birth re-integrated things in my life. For example, when she was born…
Patisotagāmi and NATO
The following will offer you a different take on Russia, Ukraine, and NATO than you hear in the mainstream media: Russell Brand with Aaron Maté: We Have Been Lied To… [11.5 minutes] Scott Ritter: NATO…