The Life in My Years

An anthology of life

The Fourth of July. Its formal name is Independence Day, and with apologies to all the Christians out there, it should be the most revered of American holidays; more revered than Christmas and Easter. Take it from an agnostic. Traditions keep us grounded and I followed one every Independence Day. Before dawn, I would, with …

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It was surreal. But there it was. Two apostles of Trump, blood brothers, a pair of the most annoying people in the history of the planet, Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson, in a shouting match. These two are almost always in concert when it comes to – anything. I didn’t know whether to laugh, sing …

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“We are not pawns for [President] Donald Trump,” said the young woman dressed in cammies. Her uniform bore two patches, one, U.S. Army, the other, a last name, Colado. She was appearing at an anti-ICE rally in Dallas. The woman continued, “Why now? It’s because the military was called on against the protesters. In our …

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“Tin soldiers and Nixon comingWe’re finally on our ownThis summer I hear the drummingFour dead in Ohio” “Four dead in Ohio” were the first words that came to mind when I heard that Donald Trump, on the evening of June 7th, had federalized 2,000 California National Guard soldiers in response to protests against ICE raids …

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“Mayday” is an internationally recognized distress call used by pilots and maritime crews over radio communications in cases of extreme emergency where life or the aircraft or vessel is in immediate danger. When repeated three times in succession it is a call for urgent assistance. May Day (also known as International Workers Day), the annual …

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April 27, 2025I was at a protest yesterday and one of the speakers asked the assembled crowd, “How many of you are afraid to look at the news in the morning?” The show of hundreds of hands was almost unanimous, and I imagine that those who didn’t raise their hands had them full. Almost as …

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March 22, 2025Walnut Creek CA. “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” ~ Desmond Tutu It’s the third straight week …

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March 4, 2025.Aspiring Fuehrer Donald J. Trump gave a State of the Union Speech before the usual gaggle; members of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, a bunch of bemedaled generals and anyone in the world who had nothing better to do. Nothing better to do sounds rather apathetic, but the fact of the matter …

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“But it might be argued that had more non-Nazi Germans read it (Hitler’s Mein Kampf) before 1933 and had the foreign statesmen of the world perused it carefully while there was still time, both Germany and the world might have been saved from catastrophe. For whatever accusations can be made against Adolf Hitler, no one …

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At the end of this short post is a link to another short blog written by Jane Fritz, an American expat, now a Canadian citizen. Her piece and the op-ed included in her piece describe what I feared would happen with the election of Donald Trump The “king” on his throne boasted of “a golden …

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