A brief reply to some comments on my post:

Shandi, actually, I do hang out in cyberspaces at sites that I don't agree with. I visit both dailykos and the American Conservative sites. I visit...

I have read the introduction to the Red Pill Forum and the rationale for putting it in a separate space. As I understand it the rationale is that people who believe in, or want to discuss, the...

A Ghazal for the Stars

A planet’s wandering under the stars,
At night I’m pondering under the stars.

A cup of hot tea puts her mind at ease,
While quietly sitting under the stars.

In...

There is a winter full moon in the sky
That is covered by thick clouds in the sky.

A coyote howls, then resumes his prowl
Underneath gathering gloom in the sky.

Some litter in the wind begins...

A few additional comments:

Wilson and Dawkins tend to depict religion as a concept without variation; in this I feel that their critique lacks nuance. Sam Harris is, to my mind, clearer on this...

You raise a good point -- I was responding to E. O. Wilson in particular, and those who resemble Richard Dawkins. But you are right, there are many religious people who are also scientists; in fact...

I have a different perspective on this. I think it is legitimate to call religion to task for the misdeeds it has done and is doing. But if it is legitimate to critique religion on this basis,...

Sears Tower

Years ago I worked in the Sears Tower;
At that time the tallest building in the world,
At that time it wasn’t even finished,
Construction continued on the top floors
Where the...

Grape juice is a terrific drink!!!

And I'm Totally Teetotaler!!!:wink:

This thread has many thoughtful comments worth our consideration. I am going to add one that is, I know, a bit eccentric. I posted a similar consideration last year regarding the celebration of two...

Good Morning:

I want to express caution regarding a new constitution. I can't see any reason why, given the electoral profile of our country today, a new constitution would be superior to the one...

I am skeptical of the idea that individual rights are safer at the federal level than they are at the state or even local level. I would have to see that demonstrated rather than simply stated. The...

Those who argue that the Civil War was about States' Rights, and not about slavery, ignore the passions and ferver of the anti-slavery movement and how deeply committed the abolitionists were. They...

Good Morning:

2015 is the 100th anniversary of a form of poetry know as the Cinquain. It was created by Adelaide Crapsey in the early 20th century. It first appeared in print in 1915 when a...

I met the number five today
While walking through a city park
He said he was just visiting,
He was both shimmering and dark.

Shadows will blend into the dark
As when the dusk displaces day,...

The sound of the steady December rain,https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccobb/keep90days/2014-12-03_12-58-30.png
Leaves in an eddy and December rain.

The tick-tock of the clock seems to have...

Barry,

Thanks for the link and the graphic. Perfect!

Jim

Cold Mountain, Han Shan, was a Tang Dynasty Chinese poet. His poetry has been translated into English a few times; the complete poems by Red Pine. Cold Mountain is one of my favorite poets. Here...

Interesting -- the same thing happened to me in 2012. I understand what Edward is saying, but I have a different perspective. For me voting isn't a matter of winning (or just winning). Voting is a...

My main focus, when deciding who to vote for at the presidential level, is foreign policy. And from that perspective I am unable to vote for Hillary Clinton. She voted for the U.S. attack on Iraq...

A Ghazal for November

The maple leaves are red in November,
I recall what you said in November.

The sky is vast and cold shadows are cast,
Most of the birds have fled in November.
...

A white rose in full bloom in the garden,
The full moon will rise soon in the garden.

A wizard sits down next to a lizard
While calmly casting runes in the garden.

A crush of tourists who are...

On two occasions friends of mine used Palm Drive Hospital and received excellent care. One of those occasions involved calling an ambulance. Closing Palm Drive represents a great loss to our...

It is difficult to know what is real.
You can't rely on what you think or feel;
Our likes, dislikes, and views change over time.
Ev'rything you touch, taste, see, smell, or hear,
Ev'rything you...

I wasn't there so I can only speculate as to what happened. But I am wondering how the event was staged? Was there an announcement? Was the announcement amplified so most people could hear it? ...

When I first moved to Sonoma County, in the mid-80's, I lived in Monte Rio. I loved the town and its atmosphere. After a few years I needed to be closer to work and as I had found a job in the town...

Ha, ha, ha!!! Thanks for posting such a humorous satire on what passes these days for religious commentary. I strongly suspect that the original article from which this one was derived, was from...

Well, now that we have that settled, I suppose it would be a display of my own ignorance to argue otherwise. But I'll go ahead anyway.

The simple assertion that God does not exist is not very...

We see things differently. First, I don't think there is any evidence that supports the idea that our government is motivated to 'resist oppressive regimes'. Saudi Arabia is one of the most...

You make a good point. I only want to point out that given our recent past, and the way our wars have been promulgated, I think it is likely that crucial information is not being offered.

In...

One point I would like considered: We cannot trust the information coming from our government or from the mainstream media, such as the NY Times or the Washington Post, CNN, (and, of course, Fox --...

In Fairbanks I liked to visit a bar,
Right now I cannot remember the name,
The owner would recite Robert Service,
He would recite the poems from memory;
'The Cremation of Sam McGee' was one
That...

In the stream a moss-covered log
Can be seen through the morning fog
Deepening pervasive silence
I briefly see a feral dog

Through the field trots a feral dog
Past the shadow of a huge log,
A...

Syllabics

The 20th century saw many experiments in the world of English language poetry. Free verse took off, while at the same time the traditional, metric, approach to poetry continued among a...

When An Angel Descends
A Sestina
By Jim Wilson

As I stand on the shore of the river,https://markmcmillion.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Gab-Dan-for-blog-post-flattened.jpg
Memories and...

A quick note on the responses to my post on local media coverage. I want to thank Tommy, and others, for pointing out that there has been consistent local coverage re Palm Drive's financial...

There is another aspect to this situation I would like to focus on: Where was the local media during this process? Many of us, particularly after the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, have...

It's been some time since I posted to the Sonnet Space thread. I plead busy; I'm working a lot and most of my free time is focused on a book I'm writing.

When I posted the sonnet from Romeo and...

Good Morning:

This is a worthwhile thread. I appreciate the discussions of the nature of evidence and inference; they have broad implications.

This is not the main focus of this thread, but I...

Goat Rock Sestina

I like to walk on the beach by the sea
Along the coast of Sonoma County
I enjoy feeling the give of the sand
Where the continent ends, gives up on land,
Watching the ebbing...

It's the 450th birthday of Shakespeare, so what more appropriate date to post one of the great bard's sonnets! Shakesepeare's sonnets are some of the finest poetry written in the English language;...

Another Sonnet from Thomas Wyatt:


I find no peace, and all my war is done:
I fear, and hope; I burn, and freeze like ice;
I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise;
And nought I have,...

One of the pleasures of reading sonnets is discovering a poet I was not previously familiar with and who has penned an elegant, thoughtful, and well-crafted poem. A few years ago I came across a...

Returning to a more serious tone, here's a sonnet I wrote a few years ago:

On Old Age

After sixty years one is less agile
And most ev'ryone is younger than you;
They tend to treat you as...

Sonnets have a reputation for being serious. I have found, though, that there are light verse sonnets, humorous sonnets, and occasional sonnets on a variety of everyday concerns. So I thought I...

A general response: Libertarian thought covers a range of views that most people are not aware of. In the U.S. at this time, the most visible group consists of those libertarians who derive their...

Thanks, Edward. That's kind of you to say so. I appreciate it.

Best wishes,

Jim

I have been, on and off, attracted to libertarian thought throughout my life. My favorite libertarian, though, is Henry David Thoreau rather than 20th century libertarians. My favorite 20th century...

I keep thinking of things that I should do
After work is done and the day is through,
But my mind works better in the morning.
My mind seems to shut down with the sunset.
I used to stay up all...

Good Morning:

That's an interesting reaction to my post; I actually thought of my post as pro-isolationist. I'm wondering if you agree with my view that an interventionist foreign poicy is the...