Month: July 2019

by Ernie McCray

Socialism is such a scary word to so many people.

They fear socialism as an enemy of capitalism, depicting it, as I saw recently in a cartoon, as “taking money from one person’s pocket and putting it in another’s pocket.”

Come on, really? I know in our economic system the almighty dollar is treated like a king, but why is that a reason for looking at another set of principles with narrow minds?

I read a meme that said a “socialist is a person too stupid to know he’s a communist.” What the hell does that even mean? Aren’t the “Red Scare” days, so steeped in stupidity as they were, supposed to be gone and forgotten?

By Geoff Page

An appearance by District 2 Councilperson Dr. Jennifer Campbell was clearly the highlight of the Midway-Pacific Planning Group meeting on June 19. As recounted in the last article about this group, the regular monthly meetings are now held at the Bay City Brewery, courtesy of the brewery owners. The location presented some audio challenges on the 19th but Dr. Campbell seemed to take them in stride during her appearance.

Yet, the meeting room has a large garage-style roll up door and a regular door to the outside. And the noise from large trucks on Hancock Street, from young guys revving up dirt bikes in the parking lot, probably from a repair shop next door, barking dogs, and delivery trucks, made it difficult to hear or be heard. This was the noisiest of the three meetings the group has held at the brewery so far and it seemed to be noisiest when Dr. Campbell was there.

By Jim Miller

The anarchy of my unkempt yard delights me. After a series of unseasonably late rainstorms, it is an unruly jungle of desert sage, fried egg plants, and delicate little yellow flowers I can’t quite identify. Usually by this time of year the grass is half dead and the gardeners have brutally hacked down the foliage out front, leaving nothing but stubs to grow back. But fortunately, the crew the property manager hired has been blessedly restrained and no one is complaining.

Sitting on the porch on a sunny day, the fried egg poppies are a wonder to behold. Most of the year their green stalks lie barren until late May when the buds appear, and, if there are good rains like this year, the bloom is abundant with large white flowers exploding atop the tall green stalks, a brilliant yellow pistil—a miracle at the center.

By the front gate, intermingling with the fried egg plants, is an overgrown desert sage with intricate purple flowers.