Monthly Archives: January 2011

In what state will the Union be left?

Posted on January 25, 2011 by

When President Obama begins to speak to the combined legislative houses this evening, he will do so without the direct benefit of many people’s input. If popular democracy means anything then it should include the opportunity for people to give … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Media, News, Politics, US economy, World economy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

How distress can lead to inappropriate behaviour

Posted on January 24, 2011 by

I had a distressing weekend. It has been bitterly cold, and my body, though it has lived in frigid climes for decades, works much better when in balmy conditions. Days and nights of temperatures below freezing point are not enjoyable, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Children, Human relationships, Service economy, Weather | Tagged , | Leave a comment

To Will

Posted on January 20, 2011 by

Following the dreadful shootings in Tucson nearly two weeks ago, many people have been discussing how to deal with children’s’ questions about death and disasters, especially when children or young people are involved. Honesty goes a long way, as do … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Human relationships | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Winter draws on: learning lessons

Posted on January 18, 2011 by

I was commissioned today to write a piece. My first grader wanted the world to know how she had spent her long morning, before school started. I had hoped yesterday that I would write something about the Martin Luther King … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Travel, Weather, Writing | 2 Comments

Change? Yes, we can!

Posted on January 14, 2011 by

I have to admit that for most of this week, writing has been extraordinarily difficult. It’s always interesting to think back to how events have their effect. This time last week I had no notion of what was about to … Continue reading →

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Civil rights and human wrongs

Posted on January 11, 2011 by

America is having to once again look into its popular mirror. The constitutional right to bear arms has had another of those unsurprising consequences with a gunman shooting down a group of innocent persons, during no period of civil or … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Human relationships, Life styles, News, Politics, Public policy | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Dumbstruck and saddened

Posted on January 10, 2011 by

The weekend’s shootings of Congressional representative, Gabrielle Giffords, and the killing of six other people in that attack in Tucson, have left me and many others totally dumbstruck. So many parts of life have to be reassessed, not just for … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Government, Human relationships, News, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Words are all I have

Posted on January 7, 2011 by

A range of odd things related to words moved together today. I managed to join some friends for their regular Friday morning coffee and conversation. So eager was I to make it that I made sure to break off from … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Human relationships, Language, Politics, Service economy, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Epiphany: Time to dance

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

I found myself with my first grader at church this afternoon, for her choir practice. As it was scheduled to be later than usual, I arranged with my wife that we meet there on her way home, and drive back … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Human relationships, Religion | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Putting the genie back into the bottle

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

One interesting conversation I had with my father in law during Christmas was about the failed attempt to create a West Indies Federation. It does not matter if you do no not know the history. He asked me if we … Continue reading →

Posted in Caribbean, Financial markets, Government, Human relationships | Leave a comment