Saturday, March 21, 2026

Starting Up

On an October day in 1971, I drove an old Chevy van up Fell Street to the Fillmore in San Francisco, on the final leg of a cross-county trek, and restarted my post-college journalism career after a two year hiatus in the Peace Corps.

A small group of us started a magazine called SunDance at 1913 Fillmore Street. It was a large-format magazine, with big graphics and long articles on the intersection of post-Sixties politics and culture.

Actually, it was pure-Sixties in its sensibility; we just didn’t know yet that that era was finished. SunDance had an eclectic list of writers and artists, none more famous than John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who also gave us some money. When they came to visit the office and share stimulants with us, we knew we’d been blessed by the gods. 

Alas, none of us knew what a business plan was, and SunDance lasted all of three issues, though glorious issues they were.

A few years later, I landed across town at Rolling Stone, at 625 Third Street, where celebrities of every stripe poured through the office, and the stimulation never ended. Not being a music writer, I rarely hung out with musicians, but a small group of us formed an ad-hoc investigative unit on staff there, and we did some good work until the founder, Jann Wenner, decided to move the operation to New York.

That same year, 1977, Lowell Bergman, Dan Noyes and I started a non-profit, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and our first office was in the Broadway Building in downtown Oakland. Financing ourselves by a combination of foundation grants and contracts with media outlets, we produced newspaper and magazine articles at first, with books, television and radio documentaries coming later on.

In my mind, the Center would be a place where reporters who worked hard could see their journalistic dreams come true. And for quite a few of us, they did.

(This is an excerpt from a piece I first published in 2006.)

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Friday, March 20, 2026

The Warrior King

Watching the parade of foreign leaders visit Trump on his gilded throne, I’m reminded of some of the great and terrible warriors of the past, like Genghiz Khan, Kublai Khan, Tamerlane or Alexander the Great.

When I lived in Afghanistan, people talked about these Eurasian conquerers in the present tense, as if they were still there. And, in many ways, their awful deeds were still very much part of the fabric of Afghan life.

They came, they conquered and moved on, leaving destruction in their wake. Much as Trump is doing now. He is shredding our democracy and wrecking the alliances with allies that have kept us safe since World War II.

Trump aspires to attain and may somehow actually attain the status of a great historical warrior, as John B. Judis argues in his provocative piece in NOTUS:

“(T)hose leaders — often propelled by megalomania — also overreached, then found themselves bedeviled by forces beyond their control. What Hegel described as “the cunning of reason” invariably caught up with them, making a mess of their ultimate ambitions. Alexander the Great swept through Egypt and the Middle East, but when he tried to conquer India, his troops revolted. Napoleon suffered a major defeat when he tried to expand his empire into Russia. He spent his final years in exile. And instead of solidifying the dominance of France, he bolstered Britain’s power and put Prussia on a path to becoming the continent’s preeminent military force.

“Does the pattern sound familiar? Trump has pushed us into a new stage of history. But it is a stage in which, because of his overreach, America may find itself diminished and disempowered. Whoever wins the White House in 2028 will inherit a fragmented international economy, ruptured alliances and emboldened adversaries, not to mention a divided and angry electorate. That president, and presidents for many years to come, will be operating in a difficult and perilous world — a world Trump remade.”

***
The main point of this piece is even if the Democrats can regain control of our government eventually, it may be too late to undue the damage Trump has done.

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Thursday, March 19, 2026

What Boomers Can Share

One experience common for Baby Boomers when we were kids was air raid drills at school, where we were taught to dive under our desks and shield our heads in the case of a nuclear attack.

If this was supposed to instill confidence about our future prospects, well, Bob Dylan had something to say about that in Talkin’ World War III Blues.

Martin Scorsese’s “No Direction Home” recognized those drills as a decisive influence in the poet’s formative years, and used footage from them to drive the point home. Dylan confirmed it in interviews.

We may have been kids, but we knew it was absurd. Just like Disney’s “Our Friend the Atom,” a pro-nuclear-power episode shown to us twice in 1957. 

Almost as soon as he arrived in Greenwich Village and started singing in nightclubs, Dylan was mixing his recurrent nightmares about World War III into his songs.

These were the early days of the anti-war movement, which — though focused on the Vietnam War — always reflected elements of anti-nuke sentiment as well.

As youngsters, we intuited but were never actually told by our government how close we had repeatedly come to nuclear war until the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. But based on declassified documents, my historian son, who just happens to be named Dylan, documented that Eisenhower threatened to drop the bomb on China on more than one occasion in the fifties.

Meanwhile, in Bob Dylan’s main song on the topic the key generational line is “I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours.” 

While older people tagged us as the“Me Generation,” I always have preferred the “We Generation,” because we know we are all in this together. 

Let’s hope that during this awful season of Trumpism, that is at least one insight we cam pass on to our heirs.

Recommended by Bruce Koon:: 

“NOTUS Perspectives: Trump as Alexander the Great — A Theory That Explains Iran (And Everything Else)” (NOTUS) 

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Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Going It Alone

After being rebuffed by most of our traditional allies, Trump has suddenly reversed course, saying the U.S. can handle the crisis at the Strait of Hormuz alone.

As far as the larger war with Iran is concerned, Trump can still count on Israel, and lukewarm support elsewhere.

But Trump’s behavior on the global stage is an embarrassment. He threatens, he bullies, he postures, but in the end he’s a paper tiger.

A dangerous paper tiger willing to continue his aggressive actions regardless of the consequences.

We have to hope that cooler heads prevail. Then again, who are those cooler heads?

HEADLINES:

  • America, Alone (NYT)

  • What’s Behind Trump’s New World Disorder? (New Yorker)

  • Trump Is Learning That His Bullying Has Consequences (Atlantic)

  • How America’s War on Iran Backfired (Foreign Affairs)

  • U.S. intelligence says Iran’s regime is consolidating power (WP)

  • Israel says it killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani in overnight airstrike (Politico)

  • “No imminent threat”: U.S. Counterterrorism Center head resigns over Iran war (Axios)

  • ‘This Is Not Our War’: Europe and U.K. Push Back Against Trump’s Demands (NYT)

  • UK security adviser attended US-Iran talks and judged deal was within reach (Guardian)

  • Iran war pushes countries into energy triage as they conserve power and curb soaring prices (AP)

  • Naval escorts will not guarantee safe passage through Strait of Hormuz, says IMO chief (FT)

  • The TACO trade meets the fog of war (Silver Bulletin)

  • Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has rejected proposals for reducing tensions or for a ceasefirewith ‌the US that were conveyed to Tehran by two intermediary countries, a senior Iranian official said. (Reuters)

  • Trump Says He Will Have the ‘Honor’ of ‘Taking Cuba’ (NYT)

  • Poll: Confidence in the Supreme Court drops to a record low (NBC)

  • How Trump’s Homeland Security Pick, a Prolific Investor, Got a Lot Wealthier in Congress (NYT)

  • J. D. Vance Learns What Mike Pence Already Knows (Atlantic)

  • Pakistan air strike kills at least 100 at Kabul drug rehab centre (BBC)

  • ‘Lobstergate’ shows just how far our media have sunk (The Hill)

  • Malaysia Becomes First Country To Declare US Trade Deal ‘Null And Void’ After Supreme Court Tariff Ruling (Yahoo)

  • Trump team applying pressure to media: Tell the war’s story the way we see it (AP)

  • A journalist reported a missile strike. Then came the death threats. (WP)

  • The unionized staff of CBS News' streaming site plan to stage a one-day walk out after negotiations with management over their new contract fell apart last week. [HuffPost]

  • Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years (NYT)

  • Oldest known whale recording could unlock mysteries of the ocean (AP)

  • Nvidia’s race to outpace physics (Axios)

  • Nurturing agentic AI beyond the toddler stage (Technology Review)

  • Meta could be winning the AI race, just not in the way you’d expect (BI)

  • How Trump Drove a Wedge Between Florida Republicans Over A.I. (NYT)

  • Unemployed Man Considers Going Back To School To Become AI (Onion)

 

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Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Signs of Hope (Against the Darkness of War)

While Trump has been trying to swing his imperial weight around overseas, making a mess of things, it is worth taking a step back to consider the domestic political situation in the U.S. that preceded (and may have provoked) the start of the war in Iran.

One of the best pieces on this topic in Thomas L. Friedman’s “Why Minnesota Matters More Than Iran for America’s Future,” which ran in the Times on Sunday.

“It was one of the most courageous battles ever fought by American men and women not in uniform. It was led by moms ready to donate their breast milk to strangers and dads ready to drive someone else’s kids to school because the parents, terrified of ICE agents, were too afraid to go out outdoors. It was neighbors ready to hit A.T.M.s to help out neighborhood restaurants and businesses deciding not to open — thus forgoing their income — for fear that masked ICE agents might drag away their cooks or dishwashers or desk clerks.”

The entire article about how the people of Minnesota prevailed over Trump is worth a read.

Another significant article on Sunday was “Michael Pollan Says Humanity Is About to Undergo a Revolutionary Change” (NYT). This one is an extended interview.

Taken together, these pieces represent signs of hope in this dark period of our nation’s history.

HEADLINES:

  • European countries resist Trump’s demand for help to clear the strait of Hormuz (Guardian)

  • A Top U.S. Counterterrorism Official Resigns, Citing the Iran War (NYT)

  • Trump warns Nato faces ‘very bad future’ if allies fail to help US in Iran (FT)

  • Trump insisted he didn’t need allies’ help in Iran. Now he’s demanding they step in (CNN)

  • Trump says he’s ‘not happy’ with UK after Starmer says it won’t be drawn into wider Iran war (BBC)

  • Trump demands NATO and China police the Strait of Hormuz. So far they aren’t joining (NPR)

  • Israel steps up bombing in Lebanon as Iran keeps stranglehold on shipping (PBS)

  • The Iran war reveals the limits of U.S. military power (WP)

  • Intrigue, Power Plays and Rivalries: Inside the Rise of Mojtaba Khamenei (NYT)

  • The war is disrupting the flow of critical medicines to the Gulf,imperiling supply routes for cancer drugs and other treatments that require refrigeration and forcing companies to reroute flights and find overland access into the region, industry executives said. (Reuters)

  • Trump Says He Wants to Delay Visit to China Because of Conflict (NYT)

  • Trump’s mass deportation agenda is at a crossroads with the Homeland Security shake-up (AP)

  • Judge Strikes Down Kennedy’s Vaccine Policies (NYT)

  • US airports in chaos as unpaid TSA employees stop showing up to work (BI)

  • Trouble is brewing among America’s corporate borrowers (Economist)

  • Desperation in Cuba Ignites Unusual Acts of Defiance (NYT)

  • Cuba’s power system suffers total collapse (CNN)

  • Susie Wiles, Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, Has Breast Cancer (NYT)

  • White House Rants At Jimmy Kimmel For Oscars Mockery Of Trump And Melania (HP)

  • The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try to bar Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, a move that could also have implications for the World Cup, which is being hosted by the U.S. this summer. [AP]

  • Robot dogs are protecting data centers. Operators are seeing payoffs. (BI)

  • Tech companies are blaming massive layoffs on AI. What’s really going on? (The Conversation)

  • See which jobs are most threatened by AI and who may be able to adapt (WP)

  • Trump Demands Staff Get King Of Hormuz On Line (Onion)

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Monday, March 16, 2026

Work's Meaning

When it comes to the physical evolution of the human species over time, our bodies — including our brains — have changed very little. Slowly it seems most of us get a bit bigger, a bit heavier and quit a bit less hairy.

What about our behavior? Are we getting smarter?

Well, we’ve gotten more sophisticated in using tools, building nests, crafting comfortable clothing, inventing vehicles that let us zoom around the planet, and establishing routines that are meant to optimize pleasure.

We’ve improved our medical knowledge and expanded our lifespans.

And we’ve been able to accomplish all these things largely by inventing technologies.

But are we happier?

Technology inherently is neither good nor bad. It is officially neutral like Switzerland, although neutrality also is a relative concept. But if there are imperatives to the evolution of our species they probably include a technological component, i.e., we are going to continue to experiment and develop technologies that extend our reach — physically, mentally and maybe even emotionally.

Artificial intelligence and robotics are the latest examples of this imperative. No government or religion seems able to stop this process.

But technological progress is also inherently disorienting and disruptive. It was becoming commonplace several years ago to describe each new upheaval of our traditional industries in terms that it had just been disrupted by the internet, or by a digital device, or a software application.

Suddenly it seemed that all of the middlemen, all of the intermediaries who held our society together were being thrown out of work. The technical term is that they were getting disintermediated.

Travel agents? Disintermediated.

Secretaries? Disintermediated.

Taxi drivers? Disintermediated.

Publishers? Disintermediated.

Finally, a year ago, this process reached the federal government in the form of Elon Musk’s DOGE.

Government workers? Disintermediated. 

Now even the tech companies are facing mass layoffs, blaming AI. Meanwhile, the disrupters always ask the same rhetorical question. Why do we need all these people anyway?

I know the answer.

It turns out that we get something pretty valuable from the intermediaries. Something we need every bit as much as food, water, clothing, and blankets when it’s cold..

We need to be cared for; we need to be taken care of now and then; we need to be helped. At the same time, we need to be able to take care of the people we love. In our jobs, we need to be able to feel that our work matters.

It’s what gives our lives meaning. We need to feel we are helping make things better, not worse. And a lot of the fired federal workers fit into that category. And so do the tech workers.

It’s also why the Trump administration has had to quietly rehire some of those federal workers laid off over the past year. And also why AI can never replace humans at work.

Because we care.

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Sunday, March 15, 2026

Kathy



My sister Kathy Richardson. (August 29, 1949 - March 10, 2026). My two sisters and I mourn her loss. Her three children and grandson were with her at the end.



(Carole, Kathy, David,Nancy)

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