I’ve seen some tense negotiations. Most end up well. Some fail. One thing I’ve learned over time is to let the other side have a “back door” out. In other words, don’t push them so into a corner, which will cause them to walk away. Instead, let the other party get some of what they
Category: Politics
Liberty or Safety: the IRS and Eavesdropping
Like many of you, I have been reading about the various government efforts that just don’t feel right: IRS audits, collections of phone logs (of everyone, all the time, when there is no probable cause), eavesdropping in on phone calls, and the like. Increasingly, the government is expanding its powers of surveillance, many of which
My Town: Tax Increases, Austerity, or Both?
Residents of our town are voting today on three special property tax increases. They’re meant to fund some school renovations, for the most part. When I think of our town’s budget, I think about its financial statements. So, I found the 2013 budget and some cool charts, some of which I show below. Our town’s
Movie: ‘Camp 14–Total Control Zone’
I watched a riveting movie this weekend about a North Korean political prisoner named Shin Dong-Huyk. Born at a slave labor camp, the film chronicles his life. What he has gone through is almost surreal, and it’s hard to believe that people are sent to life sentences involving harsh labor, torture and near-starvation for minor
My Trip Back to Indonesia in 2nd Grade
I just read an interesting piece in today’s New York Times. Here’s an excerpt: In America, all men are believed to be created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. But Nigerians are brought up to believe that our society consists of higher and lesser beings. Some are born to own and
On This MLK Day
Sometimes you work, and you don’t see the benefits. Sometimes you toil away, and the hoped-for goals continue to elude you. And, sometimes, the impact you have happens after you’ve gone. I think the work of Martin Luther King, Jr., is one such example. When he was alive, social justice was elusive. Gains were hard-fought.