The Useless Tree

Taoism

  • Another Taoist Thanksgiving

        We saw a rainbow this morning, stretched across the gray sky in our backyard, a place we have never seen a rainbow before:              It was a pleasant surprise.  The weather for today is… Continue reading

  • Taoism in the News

        Call me skeptical.  But I get a bit nervous when I see stories like this (Xinhua version):  LANZHOU, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) — The first international forum on Lao Tzu, known as China’s "father of philosophy", opened Tuesday in… Continue reading

  • November

         November is the saddest of months.  With all due respect to T.S. Eliot, November is sadder than April because the latter, however seemingly cruel, gives way to the green and warmth of Spring; life returns and revives, everything… Continue reading

  • The Tao of Execution

        We have been on quite a run of Confucian commentary here at The Useless Tree; so, it is about time for a Taoist post.  And we have the perfect story: the death sentence of Saddam Hussein.     … Continue reading

  • The Way of Property

        As economic reform deepens in the PRC, the tricky question of private property continues to pop up.       Last March, a law was ready to be enacted by the National People’s Congress that would have begun a… Continue reading

  • Is Marriage Necessary?

        The answer seems to be, in practical and empirical terms, no: Married couples, whose numbers have been declining for decades as a proportion of American households, have finally slipped into a minority, according to an analysis of new… Continue reading

  • Do Not Resuscitate

        A long piece today in the NYT on end of life issues, specifically the questions that surround whether or not to establish "do not resuscitate" (DNR) orders for terminally ill patients.      These are difficult issues, with… Continue reading

  • North Korean Nukes: The Results of a Failed Foreign Policy

         As everyone has noticed by now, North Korea detonated a nuclear bomb yesterday.  Here are some thoughts on the matter:     1) In general, this is simply the culmination of five years of bad Bush administration foreign… Continue reading

  • Very Superstitious

        In an op-ed in yesterday’s NYT, Simon Winchester tells us about a morning ritual he has followed for many years: Ever since I was 4 years old, I have said “White Rabbits” at the very moment of waking… Continue reading

  • In the Zone

        As a Taoist Yankee fan I am a bit blue today (the color of the marvelously clear and crisp October sky this morning).   Even the most casual baseball fan is, by now, aware of the ignominious collapse this… Continue reading