“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.” –Mark Twain It was Tuesday, July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and only two of the signers of that document were still alive: former Presidents Thomas Jefferson of Virginia and John Adams of Massachusetts. Jefferson and Adams had once been close friends, personally and professionally. Later in life, they became professional adversaries and even enemies, representing diametrically opposing political ideologies. In their final year, these old friends – both widowers – overcame their differences and embarked on a friendly exchange of letters, a correspondence that continued for fourteen years. They were the last surviving members of a generation of American patriots who had, against all odds, fought a war with the mighty British Empire and won. Now, half a century later, American democracy had mutated Continue Reading

There’s a library bond (Measure 10-145) on the ballot this year in mostly white, mostly poor, rural Douglas County, Oregon (population 107,000.) If the measure doesn’t pass, the ten branches of the local public library system will shut down for good. In many communities, the public library system is one of the sacred cows of local government. But in Douglas County, things are different. In a willful assault on the cultural well-being of citizens of all ages, elected representatives have actively conspired to shut down a library system that circulates 500,000 items each year. Can Douglas County afford the inevitable price it will pay as a county without a public library system – a county of citizens who will never be as worldly, well-educated or well-read as their neighbors in neighboring counties? This year, Roseburg Fire Products, a large manufacturer with 3,000 employees across the USA, moved its Douglas County Continue Reading