As a 70-year old Midwestern secular Jew, born feminist, there have been surprising moments in my intellectual and political life where my “progressive, left” perspective has come face-to-face with the “conservative, right” viewpoint, as if we were standing in the same place. This has made me wonder if the human political spectrum is actually a circle, […]
Education
For this newsletter, I only have one Evanston news item to share (Wild Onion Market). But there’s a lot of important national news with (a) local connections, (b) local impact, and (c) local actionability — with lots of interconnections among the areas of Money, Banking, Food, Farms, and Democracy. Two items have action deadlines. I hope […]
Are we truly emerging from our pandemic cocoons? If so, then the recent climate webinar with Stan Cox (hosted by Chicago Area Peace Action and other local groups) was right on time to re-focus our energies on our relationship to the Earth. See my blog Earth Emergency (Part 2) for details on the webinar and […]
Recently, I began writing a Food Politics Corner for a local newsletter. The Wild Onion Market is a food co-op being developed in Chicago. As a new member (but long-time food & farm activist), I was invited to share short & sweet news items on a monthly basis. Together with WOM’s communications team, we developed […]
First, a clarification. Of course I don’t mean ALL “food democracy” folks in the U.S. are ignorant about democracy. For one, I don’t know all the food democracy folks in the U.S., and never will. It’s a big country and I’m 70 years old. After 16 years in the food & farm movement, I’m only […]
To:Evanston voters, media, officials, political groups, businesses, activistsResidents in my neighborhood (Nichols Neighbors)Some non-Evanston voters with Evanston connections & interests Read in your browser? EVANSTON, IL: “Local Foods” in Climate PlansUnsubscribe? Just let me know.Share? Please do. Hi, all —Four items in this newsletter.#1-3 are time-sensitiveHere’s a snapshot. Full details with links are below. SNAPSHOT 1. SPECIAL […]
Last week, I put out an informal call for some short-term financial help to “extended family, friends, colleagues” across the country. I received an “interesting” response from someone in her 60s—in other words, a peer. Basically, it was a “blame the victim” response. It made me realize that not everyone has spent ten years studying […]
THE ETERNAL FEAR, by Real Organic Project: “At the same time that we are afraid to challenge the fraud, we are being driven out of business by it. It is a legitimate fear, but also a self-destructive one.” “This is why it is so difficult to come forward with such bad news: the USDA’s National Organic […]