by admin | Jan 19, 2015 | Activism, Civil rights, Government, History, Movies, Political philosophy, Racism
On this weekend of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, my wife and I spent last night watching the movie Selma before going out to dinner. Produced by Oprah Winfrey, who also plays the part a Selma protester, the movie focuses on Dr. King’s leadership of the March...
by admin | Jan 4, 2015 | Activism, Chicago, Government, Public safety, Racism
If I were a major celebrity like Oprah Winfrey, I could expect immediate and fierce feedback whenever I chose to comment on a controversial issue. I am not, but she is, and on Saturday, January 3, she got such feedback after expressing doubts about the leadership of...
by admin | Dec 15, 2014 | Activism, Government, Political philosophy, Racism
There has been considerable angst in recent weeks about relations between police officers and young black men, and more than a little finger-pointing. While I certainly think this nation needs ongoing discussions about how race relations affect police activity and...
by admin | Sep 25, 2014 | Activism, Books, Climate, Disaster policy, Environment, Government, Science
Reportedly, about 400,000 people attended the People’s Climate March in New York City last weekend. I was not one of them, but that is not because I don’t support their objectives. I had planned to be in Iowa City, and will discuss that visit in an upcoming blog to...
by admin | Aug 9, 2014 | Activism, Chicago, Environment, Urban forest, Urban Planning
Would you imagine that the trees in the metropolitan Chicago region provide compensatory value of $51.2 billion? This is the calculation produced through i-Tree, a free software program provided by the U.S. Forest Service to estimate tree canopy and the ecological...
by admin | Jun 29, 2014 | Activism, Chicago, Urban Planning
Bridges come in many forms. There are 37 viaducts along the Bloomingdale Trail, the centerpiece of The 606 Project. It’s a northwest side Chicago project whose progress I have featured on this blog more than once in the past. Those viaducts are physical bridges that...
