In August, I read a review of Barbara Ehrenreich’s new book, Living with a Wild God. (Blog 8/11/14)  The work centers around an experience in her early life which she describes as a shift in her level of consciousness.  Having had a similar experience in my 40s, I decided to get m

Tomorrow, October 26, women of Saudi Arabia will take to the streets in their cars in a mass protest against the taboo that forbids them from driving. The current prohibition isn’t a matter of Islamic law. What women are facing is a long held prejudice that presumes driving is a pri

Female genital cutting (khatna) is alive and well in the United States, even though it was outlawed in 1996. (“It Happens Here,” by Tasneem Raja, Mother Jones, July, August, 2017 ,pgs. 13-15.)  It survives because women, largely of the Muslim Bohras sect, (Click) protect the

At a party years ago in Tanganyika, (Tanzania) a newly elected Nigerian official sat to my left at dinner.   During the course of the meal, he leaned in my direction with a furrowed brow. “Tell me, in a democracy, when one party wins an election. why does it tolerate the e

Understand, there are decades between me and the new arrivals to feminism. I’ve welcomed the Baby Boomers, the Gen Xers and now the Millennials.  Each generation interprets the movement according to its values.  For a time, there were those who thought being called a “fe

Recently, I came across a line in a news report that gave me pause.  “Mexican drug cartels earn some $25 billion selling drugs in the U. S.A.” (“The World at a glance…” The Week, May 19, 2017, pg. 8.) Add the profit from the Middle East drug trade and the sum doubles, e

Let me tell you about my work day. I do so because I wish to make a point. My mornings begin at my computer, preferably before 10 am. I practice this ritual  7 days a week.  Monday through Friday,  I compose essays that will appear later as one of my blogs. Composing oc

“What do you want to do when you grow up?”  The question is one we often ask children, but how often do we hear an equally important question asked of those facing retirement?  “What do you want to do as you grow old?”  The question never occurred to my father a

A former student came to visit me at the retirement center this week.  As we sat down over coffee he managed a cheerful, “Wow, for 81, you look great.”  I gulped twice. First, I wasn’t  81 and second, I hate that caveat, “for your age.”  At almost 81, it�

During the North Korean famine  between 1994-1998, the government, unable to feed its people, allowed private markets to spring up so that individuals could buy, sell or barter among themselves for basic goods.  This small, capitalistic experiment, called jangmadang, was so