Current Affairs
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Admonish Them Gently
Thandiwe D. Watts-Jones has a nice little piece in the Westchester section of today’s NYT about her aging mother’ habit of hoarding things: She must save everything. In the pile of dust I had gathered with a broom, she bent… Continue reading
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The Failure of American Society
A depressing story out today: For the first time in the nation’s history, more than one in 100 American adults are behind bars, according to a new report. Nationwide, the prison population grew by 25,000 last year, bringing it… Continue reading
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The Tao Te Ching Against the Second Amendment
Perhaps that is too strong. The Second Amendment to the US Constitution is famously ambiguous (so maybe Taoists would then be comfortable with it!): does it secure an individual’s right to bear arms or the right of the… Continue reading
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A Taoist Garden?
A story in the LA Times a few days ago describes the opening of a Chinese-style garden in San Marino. Although it’s been a long time since I last strolled through the gardens of Suzhou or walked around… Continue reading
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Hillary’s Woes – Looking back on an I Ching Reading
Last year, just about his time, I asked the I Ching how Hillary Clinton should handle her political future. The prophecy that came back suggested that she should not run for president. I have been thinking about that… Continue reading
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Confucian China? Not So Much
While I have been distracted with Taiwan politics, Chris Panza, over at A Ku Indeed!, has been keeping up with the "China is not really Confucian" news. I agree. Continue reading
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Confucian Schools
This has become a fairly routine story in the past couple of years: schools in China that teach "Confucianism" to young children. I use the scare quotes here because it is not clear to me exactly what kind… Continue reading
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Birthleave for Fathers
Ingrid Robeyns over at Crooked Timber posts today on the debate in the Netherlands over granting paid leave to fathers so that they can participate in the care of their new born children. She provides several grounds in… Continue reading
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Consumption
Jared Diamond has an insightful op-ed in the NYT today. He makes a point that is at once obvious yet still in need of a wide hearing: the developed world, and especially the US, enjoy a level of… Continue reading
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Requiem for Benazir Bhutto
This life we’re given comes in its own season, and then follows its vanishing away. If you’re at ease in your season, if you can dwell in its vanishing, joy and sorrow never touch you. This is what the ancients… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 