Preface. This piece was originally a comment on by What IS leadership and what kind of leader do WE want? by Abbyrose86. In response to a request that it be posted separately, and with the concomitant desire to improve and clarify argument and viewpoint, it has been somewhat revised and [...]

For Saturday, March 19, 2011. My top picks from this past week’s editions.

After a frustrating day of watching Republican ‘termites’ boring incessantly into the heart-wood of America, I amuse myself by chasing our country’s national symbol and asking if I can take their photograph. It wasn’t too long ago that these amazing creatures were almost wiped out as a result of DDT. [...]

Thanks to AlphaBitch, a wonderful gift was sent to me through an email this week, it brought tears of joy to my eyes, it healed a gaping hole in my heart and soul, it has become a treasure to me, the kind words expressed will always remain with me, I [...]

I have a friend in Sendai who is writing amazing things about her experience. This is the most inspiring thing I’ve read since this whole thing happened a week ago. I hope you agree. Dear Family and Friends, This letter is different from others I have been sending recently. It [...]

Please join the discussion in exploring the best way(s) to help those in Japan.

You can now access all the past editions of The Daily Planet on the green Category bar on the top of each page under the heading PlanetPOV.

(or How I Came to Prefer the Bomb)

With reports and hype currently abounding regarding Japanese nuclear plants endangered by recent (and continuing) earthquakes, perhaps it is time to take a look at the truth about the state of nuclear power in the world today.

Why is politics so mind bogglingly complicated? You often hear conversation  about the host of complex problems we face today and that these issues cannot be reduced to bumper sticker slogans and addressed by simplistic solutions. I say simple clear, concise ideas are powerful and the problems we face are [...]

Chickens have come home to roost, or rather buzzards picking over the carcass of the dead. One of the “founders” of Huffington Post has come back to blog.

Andrew Breitbart.

You can now access all the past editions of The Daily Planet on the green Category bar on the top of each page under the heading Planet POV.

Too often when surfing the internet and visiting various blogs and other meeting sites, I read comments from ALL sides of the political divide,  that disparage President Obama’s leadership and or the leadership of other politicians and or powerful people. These comments put forth by many has bothered me for [...]

News and opinion from around US-opolis for Monday, March 14, 2011.

THE GREAT AMERICAN CON Confessions of a Republican Con Man Congratulations! You have been cast in the Republican remake of the classic movie, The Sting. We’ve entitled it, The Great American Con. You remember the original movie, don’t you? Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Charles Durning. It was fantastic! And, of [...]

Sometimes, living abroad has its advantages, even in the age of the Internet. For example, I’m probably the only American in the world who doesn’t know exactly what’s been happening with Charlie Sheen. I haven’t a clue, and I suppose he doesn’t either; but whilst I caught rumblings in the [...]

Smedley Butler Crusader, Contrarian, Curmudgeon I see a lot of people laying the blame for the events in Wisconsin at the feet of the voters whose low turnout at the polls is said to have brought Scott Walker and his ilk into power. This is very wrong and in fact [...]

News and opinion from around US-opolis for Saturday, March 12, 2011.

News and opinion from around US-opolis.

Five hours ahead and one day behind, I went to bed last night, having  just watched Rachel Maddow begin her Tuesday broadcast by roundly proclaiming that the people of Wisconsin had won the battle of wills against their governor’s intransigence. Now I wake up this morning to find that, despite Rachel’s [...]

News and opinion from around US-opolis.

News and opinion from around US-opolis.

NIMBY….it is a concept that rears it’s ugly head too often in the American social culture. While many will agree, in theory, certain things need to be accomplished for the betterment of society as a whole; too often those same people will complain and argue profusely IF that public good [...]

News and opinion from around US-opolis.

Here is a little ammunition and something to think about the next time you hear that raising taxes on “business” will stop them from hiring or squash their ability or willingness to invest or to upgrade their equipment or infrastructure.

Breathe-in experience, breathe-out poetry. Muriel Rukeyser Poetry, in  a sense, is the art of making nothing mean something. Famed French poet and playwright, Jean Cocteau once said that, “A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Much in the way a gardener does not scent his roses.” True poetry [...]