In 1850, America was consumed with the question of slavery. The awkward Missouri Compromise and similar plans created a perilous national balancing act, attempting to both condemn and retain slavery at the same time.

In 1850, America was consumed with the question of slavery. The awkward Missouri Compromise and similar plans created a perilous national balancing act, attempting to both condemn and retain slavery at the same time.

Is it different this time?

I don’t know. I have my doubts. After Sandy Hook and Parkland, it’s hard to imagine any horror moving some Americans to take the obvious steps necessary to stop the killing of other Americans.

Most studies find affordable, high quality health care the #1 issue for voters in 2020. So, it’s only logical that it’s taking center stage as a talking point for Democratic candidates.

Retired General Jim Mattis became the first confirmed member of Donald Trump’s cabinet in 2017. Mattis boasted a legendary Marine Corps career of 44 years, which is (…hold on, let me double check my math here…OK, yep…) exactly 44 years longer than the military career of the man who nominated him.

There can be no doubt. These days, the name of the game is names. Improperly describing, addressing or identifying not just people—but also places and things—is a tiptoe trip through a linguistic minefield. The lines which delineate such spaces are not only blurred…they keep shifting.

With their Debate Road Show now underway, Democrats are proposing grand plans—mostly for the good. But numbers are numbers, and as much as candidates want to avoid them, in the end someone’s going to have to foot the bill. Let’s deal with two different plans centered on the cost of college.

And so it begins…

I heard a pundit last week offer a blazing truth on the current division in the Democratic Party. He or she (can’t remember which) said the “defining distinction” for “old line” Democrats, like Joe Biden, is still class; but for the “new” ones (including most everyone running against him in the primaries), that distinction is identity.

In 1974, John Hersey wrote a small gem of a novel called, My Petition for More Space. Employing the same dystopian vibe as Orwell’s 1984, his protagonist stands in an endless line awaiting his chance to ask for more than the 8’x12’ stamp of cement floor on which he “lives”.

Five years ago, a reporter at the Washington Post wrote a book called, Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has the Time. It was a cri de Coeur, a heartfelt lament about not being able to meet the competing and constant demands of her job and her family.

There’s no love lost between Donald Trump and the Bush clan. Like an argument at Thanksgiving dinner, they’re feuding members of the same political family. But that doesn’t mean that Trump doesn’t learn, and sometimes borrow, from the traditional GOP playbook.

With the arrival of a single candidacy, the Democratic presidential race seemed to turn from a free-for-all into Davids vs. Goliath—with Joe Biden playing the role of the big guy. In recent days, his initial lead has only expanded.

Last Friday we went to hear the Clintons—both Bill and Hillary—talk onstage for an hour and a half in Seattle. Without a campaign to manage or a book to promote, the conversation was wide-ranging.

There are shots across the bow….and then there are bombshells. This one is a bombshell.

Frazier vs. Ali. Batman vs. Superman. And now…Mueller vs. Barr.

When we think about climate change, often thoughts focus on water: melting glaciers calving huge slabs into the sea, or rising oceans wiping out most of Miami Beach.

Maybe for our own peace of mind, we spend less time considering the impacts of climate change on land-based life forms. So let’s do just that. Three examples:

Just because the modern Republican party is deplorable doesn’t mean the Democrats are dependable. In fact, we know the opposite is true. Democrats will invent purity tests that divide and dismember each other. It’s as natural as breathing. The current example is the frenzy over immediate impeachment.

They say it's heartbreaking. And it is--I don't know that there's a better word.

They say it matters not only to Catholics, but to all Christians--in fact, to all people of faith. Even to those not of faith. And that's true.

The Mueller investigation is finally concluded, but it’s hard to say that anything is really settled. In the opinion of the Washington Post, fallout and follow-up to the report is, “… likely to propel Washington into a period of prolonged and even more heightened partisan combat.”

As was evident from the start, there is no soft landing ahead for Boeing’s 737-MAX. The planes remain grounded, at a cost already of a billion dollars—a cost which escalates every day.

Beyond safety, Boeing has much to answer for...

The Pacific Northwest loves its icons. But before Amazon…before Microsoft…before Starbucks or Nordstrom or the Space Needle…there was Boeing.