Tag archives: freedom
America has always meant Freedom (or Liberty, which means (more or less) the same thing to people all over the World. We even have a gigantic Statue of “Liberty Enlightening the World” facing outward from our busiest harbor. Yet the Founders of our Nation, gathering together to draw up a Constitution, had to face the […]
As everyone knows, Cinco de Mayo commemorates 1862’s Battle of Puebla. That’s the one in which an underequipped, outnumbered, and profoundly annoyed collection of hastily summoned Mexican army regulars absolutely clobbered several thousand haughty French marines, who at the battle’s denouement could be seen actually fleeing down a hill with the Mexican army in hot […]
“It Ain’t What You Don’t Know that Gets You into Trouble. It’s What You Know for Sure that Just Ain’t So.” Do you remember “learning” that the U.S. has three equal branches of government? Well, you may “know” that, but it is wrong. Under the collective alias “Publius,” Father of the Constitution James Madison – […]
Tony Soprano: You know we’re the only country in the world where the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed in writing? You believe that? Bunch of $%@! spoiled brats. Where’s my happiness then? Dr. Melfi: It’s the pursuit that’s guaranteed. Tony Soprano: Yeah… always a $%@! loophole, right? A dear friend asked me once; “Jeff, do […]
President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) delivered his famous “Four Freedoms” speech 11 months before Pearl Harbor took us into WWII. These four freedoms? Freedom of speech; Freedom of worship;Freedom from want;Freedom from fear. This mural of the Four Freedoms (pictured) used to be on the County Human Resources Department. Note that the first two are negative […]
You’d be hard-pressed to find nonprofits with an origin story more organic and homespun than NatureTrack. The organization was founded 11 years ago by Sue Eisaguirre, who, after raising her own kids with lots of outdoor time, returned to work heading up the docent and K-12 outreach programs for the UCSB Sedgwick Reserve. “It was […]
None of us is really free — nor would any thinking person really want to be. We are captives in our bodies and our minds. We are victims of all kinds of circumstances we cannot control – the weather — world events — the whims of natural catastrophes, and the mysterious fact of our own […]
Santa Barbara Bodhi Path Center resident teacher Dawa Tarchin Phillips will be leading a two-part class over successive Thursdays this month, as “Awakening Bodhicitta – How to Open Your Heart and Develop Love and Compassion” takes place 7-9 pm on March 12 and 19. The course addresses how we may be familiar with the benefits […]
Passion and Competence When Das Williams was on the Santa Barbara City Council, I was the wife of a Councilmember, Grant House. Since then Das has been both my State Assembly member and my County Supervisor. I got to know him when he served on the Council, and have seen him grow since. Das was […]
