Category Archives: Posterity

How Biden could be America’s best prez ever

I am hopeful and confident that Joe Biden can and will win the election this fall. I am gratified he has indicated he will choose a female vice-president. I am concerned, however, at Joe’s age. At almost 64 years old myself, I am not anti-geezer, but Joe will be 82 by a second term and that is getting just too old for the demands of the highest office in the land.

How to gain the first female president.

My wife, Kirsten Johanna Allen, has a great idea that I have not otherwise heard being bantered about. Joe could guide the country through recovery of both our health and wealth for three years and then resign making, say, Kamala Harris president and putting her in place to run in the next election as the incumbent.

In this era of pandemic, with local earthquakes thrown in, the thought almost makes me optimistic. We may just save our democracy yet.

Republicans are Going for Democracy’s Jugular

Trump wants to be the last American president. U.S Attorney General William Barr is paving the way. Republican legislators are all in. For Republicans it is all about power, democracy be damned.

Trump, however, is so unpopular the only way he can win is if Sanders is the Democratic candidate. Sanders is a spoiler, it’s all he has ever been. It is not the time to quibble but to put forward the Democratic candidate most likely to win. If we don’t win now we won’t have a democracy to fight over and improve. The issue is not a progressive agenda but democracy itself. And, thanks to Trump, the opposition to democracy will be fierce.

Michael Bloomberg with Sierra Club’s Carl Pope

Bloomberg is by far the most organized, capable, uber-financed candidate who can and would win. He will fight fire with fire, gloves off all the way. He is our best hope. As bespeaks his character, if Bloomberg does not win the Democratic Party nomination, he will still use his vast wealth to fight Trump anyway. I like that he is a proven conservationist, but at this point that is only icing on the cake.

And imagine this: a Michael Bloomberg / Stacey Abrams ticket.

I will be searching for how best for we conservation peons to support Michael Bloomberg.

Assets or Asses?

I used to downhill ski frequently. Not like a season pass holder, but 20 times a season or so. I’m in my 60’s now and have not skied for a year. But some of my long time ski buddies came to town, guys I first started skiing with in college, and I told them I would join them on the mountain today. They suggested we meet in the parking lot at Park City resort’s plaza at 7:15 AM and find a place for breakfast. They also needed to rent skis. When I asked why so early they said they were concerned about traffic. I thought, well, they are from California and don’t realize it is not as crowded here in Utah. I suggested I would meet them in the ticket line at 8:45, 15 minutes before the lifts open. Plans made.

Oops.

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Defying Trump II

I remember pondering in my excellent high school civics class whether something like Nazism could happen here. The common wisdom and a pervading sense of pride and patriotism was that it could not. But the Germans I knew all seemed like good people. And smart. I look back those forty plus years and give myself credit. With trepidation I thought, sure, it could probably happen here, too.

Sadly, here we are, our constitutional democracy is crumbling under a relentless assault. Republicans today are failing in a similar manner to how decent Germans failed in the 1930’s.

I wrote on these pages after the 2016 election of my three legged plan to defy Trump.  I set out to:

  1. Publish books with progressive ideas promoting love of the land
  2. Promote and support women in leadership
  3. Build a blue oasis in a red, red state

I am doing pretty well on all three. Torrey House Press is having a record year and is building a terrific staff to keep expanding its impact. I plan on raising a cool $1 million to help them further build capacity. The board, besides me, is all women and so is the staff. And to a small but hopefully useful extent I levered my observatory to help the town of Torrey, Utah become an International Dark Association certified dark sky community.

I want to do more.

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