Columnists

THE PUBLIC EYE:Ten Potential Game Changers

Bob Burnett
Friday September 11, 2020 - 11:48:00 AM

The political conventions have come and gone and little has changed in the 2020 presidential election. Before the conventions, Joe Biden led Donald Trump by an average of 8.0 percentage points; after the conventions, Biden led Trump by an average of 7.6 points. (https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/national/ ) Trump continues to be unpopular; his latest ratings are 53.1 percent disapprove and 42.7 percent approve. (https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/ ) For Trump to win, external factors will have to intervene. Let's consider ten possible game changers.

1.The Presidential Debates: There will be three presidential debates: September 29 (Cleveland), October 15 (Miami), and October 22 (Nashville). (There will be a Vice-Presidential debate on October 7 (Salt Lake City).) -more-


ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Writing Amid the Twilight of 10 a.m.

Jack Bragen
Friday September 11, 2020 - 12:04:00 PM

This is craziness. The smoke blanketing the Bay Area has it dark out and cool, when by all rights we should be well into the daytime and getting hot. What comes to mind for me is--Apocalypse? This weather triggers a lot of past stuff for me. -more-


DISPATCHES FROM THE EDGE:The Pandemic & Oil

Conn Hallinan
Sunday September 06, 2020 - 12:30:00 PM

During the reign of the Emperor Justinian I (527-565 AD), a mysterious plague spread out of the Nile Valley to Constantinople and finished off the Roman Empire. Appearing first in China and North India, the “Black Death” (Yersinia pestis) radiated throughout the Mediterranean and into Northern Europe. It may well have killed close to half the world’s population, some 50 million people. -more-


ECLECTIC RANT: Dr. Scott Atlas, Trump’s New Pandemic Guru

Ralph E. Stone
Saturday September 12, 2020 - 11:43:00 AM

The U.S. has 4% of the world’s population, but more than 25% of global coronavirus cases.

Dr. Scott Atlas is Trump’s new pandemic adviser. Dr. Atlas is a neuroradiologist with no background in epidemiology or infectious diseases. Trump has embraced this new adviser because Dr. Atlas argues that the role of government is not to stamp out the virus but to protect our most vulnerable citizens and then let the rest of us get infected until herd immunity” is reached. -more-


Smithereens: Reflections on Bits & Pieces

Gar Smith
Friday September 11, 2020 - 12:06:00 PM

Exit Exxon

After nearly a century basking in the top ranks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, ExxonMobil has been told to leave the party. The Climate Activist community couldn't be happier, calling Exxon's exit "a historic moment marking the fall of Big Oil."

Exxon became particularly reviled when it was revealed that—despite its long denial of carbon-caused climate change—"Exxon knew about the climate crisis and lied" to protect its profits while the world burned.

"Make no mistake about the significance of this news," the 350.org Team writes. "Not only was Exxon the oldest member of the Dow Jones, but it was the world's largest oil company and, for many years, the world's largest company, period.

"The truth is that Big Oil is failing. A new day is on its way—one where we move to a resilient, regenerative, and just energy economy. Even the finance world is waking up."

Run, Kamala, Run!

It's great to see "Berkeley's own" Kamala Harris out on the campaign trail as Joe Biden’s running mate. Great attributes: child of immigrant parents from Jamaica and India, she is not only the first woman of color to be running on the Democratic Presidential campaign trail (Native American activist/author Winona LaDuke was Ralph Nader's VP choice for his Green Party runs in 1996 and 2000) but Harris has become the first candidate to campaign in sneakers. -more-