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The Mythical Land of Deep State
Donald Trump pledged to “drain the swamp” when he took office in 2017. Steve Bannon went further, calling for “deconstruction of the administrative state” itself with aims to “destroy all of today’s establishment.” Trump, Bannon and their followers believe that American society is controlled by the “Deep State,” an evil conspiratorial cabal. A vast army…
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Hamas. Israel. It’s Complicated.
Preface Followers of this blog probably know that I effectively broke with the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) after almost 50 years supporting it and working with it. I took this action over disagreement on a few specific issues. These disagreements are strong and heartfelt, but narrow. I still broadly agree with the SWP on…
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The Not-So-Slow Creep of Bigotry
Ron DeSantis’ infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law was initially aimed at young elementary school children whose tender ears were deemed too sensitive to be told their classmate Johnnie has two mommies or two daddies. The law covered K-3. It wasn’t long before DeSantis decided that even 12th graders are too young. From there DeSantis aimed…
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A Living History of the Great Wall
Frequent visitors to this blog and my website are likely aware that my grandfather, Dr. William Edgar Geil, was the first person ever documented to have walked the entire length of the Great Wall of China. He did this in 1908. After writing books and touring the world with stories of this and other adventures,…
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The Gift of Turning 70
Old friends invited my husband and me to dinner last weekend. The weather was delightful after the storms, heat and humidity of recent days. We shared stories of old times and people, which doesn’t always come easily anymore. What was his name?… I think it was 1975? 1976?… That was before, no wait, it was…
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HEY… It’s Not Your Father’s Email
Email is indispensable in modern life… and inescapable… and the bane of existence for many of us. There’s way too much of it, especially on our jobs. Before retiring I got over 400 emails a week at the office. Some people get that many in a day! Home is no escape either. I use email…
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Society Needs a Collective ‘Time Out’
An article in yesterday’s New York Times got me thinking. It described the latest round of something we see constantly these days: speakers (usually conservative) being shouted down or denied a platform altogether by (usually “progressive”) students or activists. The right does this too, though in their case it’s often more institutionalized than ad hoc. Examples include…
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Two Brothers Walk China’s Great Wall End-to-End
This post has been updated to include the complete set of 22 videos recorded during the journey of James and Tommy Lindesay along the Great Wall. You can follow the Lindesay Brothers directly at YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. My grandfather, Dr. William Edgar Geil, walked the entire length of China’s Great Wall in 1908. He…
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My Liberal Turn
I became a socialist in the early ’70s before attending college. While never a member, I’ve been involved off and on in different capacities with the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) ever since — until last spring. In April I broke off my formal connection over political differences. This has led to a series of…