As I was channel surfing a few months ago, I stopped to watch a new Discovery Channel reality show called Gold Rush. Since then I have seen every episode. The show is now in its…
Mother Nature, Make Me Rich
NBC recently aired a show called America’s Next Great Restaurant. Contestants, each of whom hoped to open a restaurant chain, were put through a series of tests to see whose idea had the best chance…
Ten Years on the Road, Part Two
I grew up in western Pennsylvania. There were woods nearby, and while I often played in them, their wonders---the trees and birds, the changing seasons---escaped me. I never asked why the robins flocked to the…
Ten Years on the Road, Part One
We're driving in a dust storm somewhere in the Navajo Nation in Arizona. We’ve just passed “Church Rock,” and to the north in Utah is The Valley of the Gods. We can barely see the road,…
Speak Out, Fight Back!
We spent six weeks in January and February in Ford City, Pennsylvania, my hometown. We stayed with my mother, in the house in which I grew up, and slept in the twin beds in my…
A Little Night Music
panis angelicus Sometimes at night in our motel room, I put on headphones and listen to music on my computer. I subscribe to Rhapsody, which gives me access to millions of songs. I pick one and go…
Radical Labor Education, Part 5: A New Labor…
A few weeks ago, I was a guest on a radio show hosted by Ed Martin on KDVS in Davis, California. The Egyptian revolt was in full swing. I said: I know there's a lot…
WISCONSIN LABOR ON THE MARCH
Here is a link to an interview I did with France Kassing at KDVS radio in Davis, California. I am the first person on the show, so just click on the link and listen. Link:…
Radical Labor Education, Part 4: Renewal?
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 had the champions of capitalism crowing that history had ended, that there was no alternative to the "magic of the marketplace." Historical developments since then have given…