Human beings are NOT the apex of evolution [that would be dolphins…]; and we are certainly not any more important than any other living creature on this planet. We have the right to exist and that ought to be good enough. Our lack of respect for the earth extends to our dysfunctional society. We don’t […]
Food democracy is a true grassroots movement toward sustainable, responsible, healthy and community-based food production and distribution. The food democracy movement asserts that people have the power and the responsibility to actively participate in decisions concerning their food system. The ultimate goal of food democracy is to guarantee that all people have access to affordable, healthy and […]
“Hey, I know that guy! It’s Neil! Turn around, quick!” Stephen Stills, struggling musician and songwriter, was riding shotgun in a white Ford Econoline Van driven by his manager, Barry Friedman. The date was April 6, 1966. In back was his old friend, Richie Furay, another aspiring singer-songwriter. They were stuck in a huge traffic […]
Of course they lie. They lie because they want to. They lie because they can. They lie because it is second nature to them; it just comes naturally. These people have no conscience: they lack empathy, and they lack of any sense of responsibility for their actions. Dishonesty, arrogance, greed and corruption are hardwired into […]
In his seminal book Bomb Power, author Garry Wills argues that America’s use of the atomic bomb against Japan marked a critical turning point in global politics. With the advent of enormous nuclear stockpiles and the seemingly endless Cold War, the Pentagon argued that the President of the United States would simply not have the […]
For centuries opera was dominated by larger-than-life characters: legendary gods and goddesses, mythical figures from ancient Greece and Rome, kings and queens. But as opera became an ever more popular form of entertainment, that model began to change. The operatic form continued to evolve during the post-Romantic period. Composers began turning to stories about simpler, […]
Tearing down and setting up. That’s the worst thing about playing drums in a classic rock band. Especially at my age. Tearing them down, packing them in the van; taking them out of the van; setting them up; tearing them down again, cramming them in the van and hauling them back again. Doing all of […]
I’m having politics fatigue. I haven’t exactly run out of evidence to support my position, but there is a particular stumbling block I keep running into when I try to reach across the proverbial aisle to have one of those “difficult conversations” with Trumpanzees such as my asshole brother. I don’t understand why I have […]
Fascism is an easy enough tag to apply to current political trends; but it is not a fully appropriate label. America has been slowly morphing into something else over the past fifty-plus years. The super-rich now own the vast majority of wealth, income, and most of the shares in publicly traded companies, including the 6 […]
America’s public school system has been a failure because of a successful 30-year GOP effort to de-fund the system in favor of private and charter schools. The purpose of this policy was always to destroy the learning environment of the students, and extinguish the average child’s innate desire to explore and learn. This indoctrination – […]
Jason Darensburg's Blog-o-rama 