In the past, when I’ve written about buying art, I’ve  said, purchase what you like and don’t think about your purchase as an investment. In fact, most of us aren’t investors.  We’re looking to cover the walls of our homes and offices with pleasant images.  I have, howeve

Know what 123456 is? It’s the world’s most popular security password. (“To Fix Your Terrible Passwords, Kill them,” by Nate Lanxon, Bloomberg Businessweek, May 29-June 4, 2017, pgs. 36-37.)  Understand, I mock no one for lack of originality.   For a time, 000000 worked for

Because artists pursue their passions whether or not anyone pays them, art thrives in the best and the worst of times.  And, as Charles Underwood reminds us, like a weed, it gains strength during periods of adversity.  (“Art in the Age of Trump,” by Charles Underwood, Town&C

I have held two publicly elected offices in my life.  I served as  a counselor with a regional government known as Metro.  Later, I won a seat on the Multnomah Board of County Commissioners.  Both times, the governments I served defended me against lawsuits while I performed my pu

To survive the Trump presidency, a person must either develop a sense of humor or go mad.  I’ll say this for atheists, they have a sense of humor.  Since Trump’s inauguration, members of Freedom From Religion, (FFR) have contributed $100,000 on behalf of Mike Pence to their orga

“Ohhhhh…you snow white bitches love white womens (sic) books.”  So began a diatribe from a Just Read It viewer.  I was amused, having suffered greater abuse growing up as a Latina in Los Angeles during the 40s and 50s.  Certainly, I’ve heard worse.     Which brings me t

No one could accuse me of being a Donald Trump fan.  Nonetheless, I do feel sympathy for him as he attempts to change the rules of political gamesmanship in Washington D. C.  Already he is paying a heavy price for attempting to “clean up the swamp.” Never mind that his n

If you’re under the age of 90, you’re probably old enough to know about computers,  at least well enough to  send an email.  Those over 90 tend to mistrust electronics and prefer the elegance of a handwritten note.  One elderly woman at our  retirement center likes to sit

One of the difficulties for Constitutional literalists, those who seek to interpret our laws according to the intentions of our founding fathers, is that the country these men created no long exists.  As Gareth Sitaraman writes in “Divided We Fall,” those leaders lived in

In 1972, Phyllis Schlafly,  (Click) opponent of the ERA amendment said, “the women’s libbers don’t understand that most women want to be a wife, mother and homemaker – and are happy in that role.” (“Real Housewives,” by Sarah Jones, New Republic, May 2017, pg. 58.)  I�