Recent content by Islander

I'm afraid that term limits would only transfer power to the unelected staff. If you are familiar with how DC works, there are tens of thousands of people who live and work in the background, year after year, and accumulate power. If you want to influence government, you identify these people...

I got up this morning to walk the dog and then tuned into the news, only to be greeted by the early reports of this violence. Felt depressed for most of the rest of the day. Most of the early reports were wrong in the details reported - not surprising. As the day progressed, the NYPD and...

I attended a lecture several years ago where the speaker made the distinction between racism and discrimination. His argument made a lot of sense to me. The term racism has become so politically charged that using the term to describe someone immediately ends productive discussion. On the...

Speculation is that Putin is expecting a quick victory - capture Kiev and install a new government, believing that Ukrainians will opt for peace rather than war. I think that he is forgetting the bad memories that Ukrainians have of rule under the Soviets. More likely that Ukrainians will wage...

What creates pride of community? I can tell you that it is NOT demonizing a group of people. It might be useful to consider successful efforts. In the 1960s, Baltimore was a city with a lot of problems including homelessness, urban blight, and civil unrest. A number of people deserve credit...

I agree with you on Russia's motives. It appears to be similar to Putin's attempts to regain a buffer zone between Russia and NATO. Ukraine is only the most intense right now. Look at the unrest all along the border with Russia. As to Afghanistan, if you recall, the military did not want...

My family and I started using Zoom in March 2020 and we have continued a tradition of meeting every month. I got reacquainted with a niece who I had lost track of for 30 years. We also discovered a cousin who has joined us. Our family never spent much effort communicating, and we have grown...

I think that is a fairly common dream, at least similar to one that I have had for years. In my dream, it is near the end of the term and I realize that I am registered for a class that I never attended. I didn't even know where the class was held, what texts were used, or even the name of the...

Not only has the COVID-19 virus been isolated, but the variants are also isolated and identified. It is not unusual for people infected with respiratory diseases to die from other diseases, pneumonia (the old man's friend) is a common secondary infection. If you recall, there were early 2020...

I'm new to this forum, so I thought that I would ask for clarification to the "No Politics" rule that you mentioned before I blunder into forbidden topics. I noticed the "No Politics" statement in a welcome message, but checking further there is no mention of it in the published "Terms and...

I am naturally curious and an optimist. I like to hear about creative solutions to difficult problems. I'm turned off by senior groups that lapse into "isn't it awful." My favorite books are by Stephen Pinker, especially "Enlightenment Now."

I'm looking for serious discussions.