I am a regular attender at the Brandywine-sponsored Good Friday demonstration at Lockheed-Martin (and was arrested there on Good Friday a few years ago). Something unusual happened this year, as explained in the following letter that I wrote to the leaders of the Brandywine Peace Community. (more…)
April 22, 2011
April 18, 2011
Tax Day at the Post Office, 2011
I was at the Bryn Mawr Post Office this afternoon, distributing literature that explained how nearly half of the federal budget relates to military expenditures. I was suggesting that this is the place for cuts to be made, not in essential services. (more…)
April 6, 2011
“sometimes I think this is not america.”
I received this email today concerning a young Nepalese boy at South Philadelphia High School, as follows: (more…)
February 5, 2011
Does Paul take a homeless person to the formal Mendel dinner?
The Villanova College of Arts & Sciences invites their faculty to an annual formal dinner. Putting on a tux for dinner seemed rather excessive/wasteful to this simple Quaker. But a friend had purchased one at a garage sale that happened to fit me perfectly, and so (more…)
January 3, 2011
A sustainable marriage (NYTimes 12/31/10)
This NYTimes article focuses on what makes a sustainable marriage. The author proposes that relationships succeed when they develop “self-expansion” via a mutual contribution to increased knowledge and new experiences. The concept is interesting and speaks to the relationship between Fran and me. I took their “quiz,” although I don’t put that much credence in it. What I found most interesting were the comments that ensued. You can see them for yourself online, and I have copied my four comments at the end of this post (#s 69, 159, 174, 207 for NYTimes article).
As a Quaker, I am particularly led by two testimonies focusing on 1) Inner (personal) peace and 2) Outward (world) peace. These two are closely related, and while my comments on this NYTimes article relate particularly to the first sense of peace, it is true that with more of this first type, we would also have much more of the latter type (and vice versa). (more…)
December 20, 2010
My Crèche Tableau
Why do I value the crèche that I set up every Christmastime? I do not take, nor am I particularly concerned with, a strictly literal interpretation of the scene depicted (even the bible tells the story differently). So what does it represent? (more…)
July 19, 2010
WWII COs — My Heroes (and friends) in the fight for true peace.
I was at the annual PYM Peace Picnic recently and spoke with two WWII veterans (Neil Hartman & Warren Sawyer) – pacifist COs in medical experiments intentionally infected with hepatitis by injection or by drinking fecal water. My friend Russ Tuttle wore lice underwear in typhus tests. These are my heroes…they saved many lives. (more…)
June 25, 2010
I am a co-complainant to the U.N. Human Rights Council
I am a signatory and co-complainant in a formal complaint to the United Nations. We are waiting to receive a full response. (more…)
June 22, 2010
Supreme Court says counseling Peace to terrorist groups aids terrorism.
The NYTimes today reported on the Supreme Court’s decision that advising about peaceful or humane alternatives with groups that the State Department has designated as terrorist is the equivalent of aiding and abetting the enemy. I guess the U.S. follows the “shoot first, talk later” approach – oops, we can’t be doing that, that’s terrorist. So what IS the Supreme Court thinking?
One of my NYTimes Comments in response to their articles was the following: (more…)
March 20, 2010
Historians’ fact sheet about atomic bombing of Japan.
At the time of the public exhibit of the Enola Gay (the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima), a substantial number of respected historians sent a letter to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution objecting to the bias inherent in the exhibit. Their letter is one of the best statements of some historical facts (see their reference list) that support that there was no military rationale for using atomic weapons on Japan. Please read the letter and other supporting reference material (click the Comments for the full story) and evaluate the situation for yourself in light of this informaton.