An American friend has been in Tijuana and is scheduled to return home after this week. In the last few days we’ve exchanged messages about the Honduran migrants who’ve begun arriving there so dramatically to claim asylum in the U.S. What follows is his three-part report from the scene — or rather, just off the scene. Tijuana is a large city, over 1.5 million people, and what’s happening varies depending on where you are and whom you’re talking with. I’ve changed identifying details for privacy, but not changed anything relating to the caravan. And I bolded a few passages of…
11 CommentsMonth: November 2018
Today is the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown murder-suicides. This horror will always be relevant because it’s such an extreme version of such a normal, acceptable thing — following a charismatic leader straight into hell. It’s also relevant because of the role Jim Jones, a socialist and a power broker, played in changing San Francisco politics in the years just before the move to Guyana. Records have conveniently been “lost” that would fully reveal the corrupting role of Jones and The People’s Temple in making SF the left-wing factionalist place it became. But nobody can “lose” the words and pictures…
6 CommentsI didn’t hear pundits mentioning it on election night, but Florida v*ters approved an amendment to end greyhound racing in their state as of 2020. Dog racing is a dying sport, anyhow. But Florida’s new law may finish it off; there are only a few tracks left in the country and with Florida out of the game, the critical mass to sustain breeding and racing programs may no longer be there. To that, dog lovers mostly say, “Good riddance.” But passage of the law creates a problem: In the next two years, some 15,000 racing greyhounds will need foster and…
12 CommentsI have no business being disgruntled or depressed. Here it is, November 15, and it’s still shirtsleeve weather. The sun is shining. The air is still. The critters and I are reasonably well. There’s really not a thing to complain of and quite a lot to be joyful about. But it’s been a discouraging few weeks, for reasons too petty to go into. If you got me started, I’d produce an embarrassing rant and I don’t want to do that. So early this afternoon I shut the computer, packed Ava into the car, and took her out for a latte…
10 CommentsCommentator Gerard Van der Leun is — was — a resident of Paradise, California. Now, burned out of his home along with another 30,000 people, he’s taken refuge in Chico. He writes beautifully about the individuals and businesses of the town “leaving it all on the field” for their bereft and desperate guests. A must read. There have been a lot of dramatic and moving reports out of Paradise. But nobody says it better. Van der Leun concludes: They all were leaving it all on the field everywhere in Chico. From Penny’s in the Mall to the Birkenstocks Store downtown…
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