Columnists

The last question asked in the October 4th vice-presidential was on a subject all Americans should worry about: "It has been a divisive campaign... if your ticket wins, what specifically are you going to do to unify the country and reassure the people who voted against you?" Democrat Tim Kaine replied that he was confident that Hillary Clinton could unify the US because she is a proven conciliator. Republican Mike Pence asserted Donald Trump would unify the country by making "America great again." -more-

While the mainstream media focuses on losers and winners in the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, there is a largely unreported debate going on over the future course of U.S. diplomacy. Its outcome will have a profound effect on how Washington projects power—both diplomatic and military—in the coming decade. -more-

"Equity Permits": from Oaksterdam to Wall Street

SF Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. recently ripped the "equity program" that some Oakland community members want to see incorporated into the city's new laws legalizing the cultivation and sale of marijuana ("Half-baked Oakland Pot Plan a Buzzkill," September 30, 2016). Taylor noted that established weed-dealers fear the compensatory codicil could "bottleneck the city's pot trade." -more-

My condition, and being heavily medicated for it, over time, has caused me to have fewer capabilities in some areas of life. It is harder for me to drive a car than it once was. (Albeit, some of this difficulty stems from increased unpredictability of other drivers, who are talking on the phone and/or texting while driving, or perhaps they got their driver's license out of the proverbial Cracker Jack box.) -more-