Commentaries

Last August, my commentary concluded with this observation: “One thing is certain: By next August, both parties will have completed their primary elections … and named their nominees. We already know the stakes in 2024: Nothing less than the future of our democracy, the security of our planet, and the conditions under which our nation […]

What is democracy? Merriam-Webster defines it this way: “rule of the majority; a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” Earlier this year there was a primary election where registered voters of each political party […]

The media used to be called the Fourth Estate that kept the public informed. Our media is no longer fulfilling that function.  For a democracy to flourish, the public must know and understand what is happening on the local, state, federal and global stage. What went wrong?  When President Reagan overturned the Glass-Steagall Act, which […]

The Ten Commandments have existed for centuries. Early on, people realized that there should be a set of common-sense rules to guide civilization. The basis of our Constitution and public laws are found in those guiding principles. For people to coexist in harmony they must become familiar with them at an early age. Some states, […]

In November 2016, immediately after Donald Trump’s election, Yeats’ famous lament over the apocalyptic carnage of World War I seemed to capture that moment in our history. Of course, our nation survived the next four years. The “centre” did hold, but just barely: On Jan. 6, 2021, for hours “mere anarchy” was loosed upon the […]

The last time I watched a presidential debate was in 1956 when surrogates represented Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson who was challenging incumbent Republican President Dwight Eisenhower. Since then, I have relied on press/media reports and analysis of what was said or how the candidates acted. But I changed my strategy when President Joe Biden “debated” […]

As I read the letters and editorials in your paper, it seems as if Republicans must really hate this country. Everything to them is doom and gloom, and they seem to believe Biden is ruining the country.  On the brighter side, this country has now had seven straight quarters of economic growth and unemployment is […]

If your son/daughter and their mate have a couple of kids and they have a joint income of say $85,000 a year, why can’t they find an affordable home to rent/buy? Well, there are lots of reasons why it will be hard for them, and most are associated with government policies that have dramatically increased […]

Regarding “Semantics and spin”  in the May 30 Sun, it really saddens me to see a group like REACT and their spokesperson, Mandy Davis, continue to use divisive rhetoric to oppose offshore wind energy. A few examples of their misinformation: • The article claims that the fossil fuel industry “almost never” funds campaigns against wind […]

Your standard of living is defined as the degree of wealth and material comfort available to a person or community. Your quality of life is similar, the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group: the things that are needed for a good quality of life. Inflation is a general increase […]

 I recently came across the list of second year inductees to the Santa Maria High School Athletics Hall of Fame and was, once again, disappointed to find that longtime Saints’ baseball and basketball coach Bill Yanez was not included. When he was left out last year, I assumed he was simply overlooked by the committee, […]