As 2020 continues its downward spiral toward the ninth circle of hell, one can only hope that something good will come out of the tragedy and chaos.
The U.S. is long overdue for meaningful police reform. It seems as if departments are recruiting the wrong sort of people to become cops. While most officers are good, civic-minded people, some appear to be little more than neighborhood bullies who relish the legal right to push people around. Read the rest at Puget Sound Business Journal.
Seattle was ground zero for the coronavirus epidemic in America. But there is another epidemic for which it serves as ground zero: the intellectual purge of academia of conservative or even moderate worldviews and values. Read the rest at the Puget Sound Business Journal.
The world is gripped with fear and fascination. If anyone predicted that politics and economics in 2020 would be upended by a tiny sack of chemicals known as a virus, I tip my hat to you. Few of us — perhaps with the exception of survivalists and flu scientists — saw this coming. Read the rest at Puget Sound Business Journal.
When I was in elementary school, I was part of a gifted program. (I can hear my critics laughing — but, indeed, it’s true.) From second to fifth grade, gifted students were kept together and placed with teachers who implemented a unique curriculum. Read the rest at Puget Sound Business Journal.
We are now in the year 2020, a metaphor for perfect vision. Though President George H. W. Bush once derided that “vision thing,” Seattle is in dire need of one. The mayor and City Council should embrace the following priorities. Read the rest at Puget Sound Business Journal.
I hate to be the skunk at the garden party, but I fear that 2020 will be an awful lot like 2019 — only worse. My latest for Puget Sound Business Journal.
Those of us wishing that decency and practicality would emerge victorious at the ballot box were left defeated and dejected. Conditions were ripe for an overhaul at the City Council. Yet, Seattle voted in favor of the status quo, and the rest of the state voted for dysfunction. Read the rest at the Puget Sound Business Journal.
I have mixed emotions as I see a skyscraper going up in the U District. Apparently, at least eight more are on the way. These uneasy feelings were compounded when I visited Kerry Park, and much to my dismay, I no longer recognized the skyline of Seattle. Read the rest at Puget Sound Business Journal.
I used to freelance for The Economist, and one of my favorite covers is from 1992. Under the headline, “Who would tame Leviathan?” is a grotesque, blue monster (donning a bowler hat, of course) with an insatiable appetite for money. Who is Leviathan? Leviathan is the government. Read the rest at Puget Sound Business Journal.
Every once in a while, it is worth pausing to ponder carefully on current affairs and our place in history. I’ve come to the unsettling conclusion that, despite the towering cranes and shiny new buildings, there are some deep pathologies running in our city’s veins. Seattle is in crisis. Read the rest at Puget Sound Business Journal.