Easy as 3-6-9 by Randall Auxier At the moment, a dollar will buy you 6 Swedish Crowns, roughly. The Swedes decided not to convert to the euro, a decision that is looking better every day. It comes as no surprise to the Swedes. It is not that Swedes can’t be surprised, but perhaps…
The Curse (of the Curse) of Babe Ruth by Randall Auxier Cubs fans, take a knee. This concerns your souls and you need to listen. I have a message for you from the Baseball Gods. I don’t know why they chose me, a Cardinals devotee, (with some Braves leanings on the side), as the…
There is no mention of corporations in either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States. But as early as 1819 in Dartmouth College vs. Woodward the Supreme Court suggested that corporations were entitled to make and enforce contracts, thus implying early on that they should be treated as persons with rights…
“Dangerous Crosswinds May Exist” by Randall Auxier I mentioned in my last P&P post that I had been driving along “Future I-26 West” in North Carolina. As we always do these days, my spouse looked it up to see what was going on. The wireless modem has replaced family sing-alongs, but I’m not sorry…
The student protests in this country during the turbulent 1960s led by well-intentioned, idealistic young people, seem to have marked the death-throes of the American spirit. Directed as it was, unsuccessfully, against the “establishment” of materialistic, commercial and militaristic power that increasingly controlled this country, the effort sought in its blind way to breathe life…
Not by Bread Alone by Randall Auxier Emma Goldman spent two years in the dank prison on Blackwell’s Island (now called Roosevelt Island) for saying in a speech to a group of workers: “Give us work. If you do not give us work, then give us bread; if you do not give us either work…
My Brother’s Keeper by Randall Auxier Chang and Eng Bunker were joined at the sternum by a bit of cartilage, and although their livers were fused, they would have functioned independently. Contemporary medicine could have separated them safely, but in 1811 it was too dangerous. So they lived together, making money enough to buy land,…
Extreme Virtue 6: And Then Again, I Could Be Wrong by Randall Auxier I used to play in a musical duo with a wonderful singer/songwriter named Robert Hoyt (here’s a link to some stuff). He was an Earth First! activist who later lived in his truck with a cat going from town to town and…
A good friend of mine some years back sent me a most interesting comment made by the Swedish film-maker Ingmar Bergman. It keeps coming back to me as one of the most profound insights into modernity’s spiritual malaise. Bergman is speaking about art, but we must remember that art creates culture; where the artist goes…
Like a Horse and Carriage By Randall Auxier I was shuffling through the available radio stations on a long trip when the seek function paused on a preacher. I usually pass over such offerings, but he was launching into a sermon, promising to reveal the secret of successful marriage. “Well,” I thought, “this might be…