Gladys West, an African American female from rural Virginia, was a key figure in the development of GPS (the Global Positioning System) in the 1950s and 1960s. GPS has changed the lives of almost everyone. All segments of society use the Global Positioning System—the military, the auto industry, the cell phone industry, NASA, social media, … [Read more…]
Last fall as the former giant retailer, Sears, teetered on passing from the scene, one of its giants did pass. Superstar Charles Harrison, a retired Sears industrial designer, died at age 87. Black history month is a good time to recount his amazing life and work. While he is not widely known, his work permeates … [Read more…]
The Trump phenomenon is taking the country to some bad places, places where we excuse insanity and hardly blink at corruption. For proof see this 18 minute clip from Rachel Maddow’s show last night. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/shameless-trump-favor-for-donor-threatens-to-normalize-corruption
Every few years I get to play the role of an artist. The enabler this time is the Virginia Tech School of Visual Arts (SOVA). Their Armory Gallery opened an exhibition of my photographs on January 22, which will run through February 15. The show—labeled Sweet Soul Music—consists of pictures I took between 1971 and … [Read more…]
If this is a teaching monument let’s do it right. To start, see James Comey below. James Comey: Take down the Confederate statues now By James Comey February 7 James Comey is a former director of the FBI and a former deputy attorney general. White people designed blackface to keep black people down, to intimidate, … [Read more…]
Last Friday, the same day that we learned about Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s racist yearbook page, I learned about some of Joe Biden’s old racist behavior. I hold the position that what Joe Biden did “back in the day,” opposing federally mandated busing is worse than what Northam did. Northam’s actions were racist to the … [Read more…]
I quit watching the Super Bowl telecast tonight, strange behavior for a person who has been immersed in sports for many years, attending at least 15 different national sports championship events. I teach about sports, I write about sports, and long ago I was a sports reporter. I think I had watched every Super Bowl … [Read more…]
For a fair and balanced consideration of tax policies see Paul Krugman here.