Esperanza Spalding Shows Portland’s Aristocracy The Faces Of The American Dream

October 4, 2017

We are all entertainer/pundits with social responsibility now, Portland’s Jazz Prodigy is no exception. “It’s Esmerelda Spudding”, says Esperanza Spalding to the snappily dressed nonagenarian shuffling forward for a picture with Portland’s biggest name in Jazz since Pink Martini. It seems likely that the two-time Grammy winner knew that her joke would go over the … More Esperanza Spalding Shows Portland’s Aristocracy The Faces Of The American Dream

Portland’s Trump vs. Antifa Protest: Mainly trolls, hints of a violent future and reminders of a racist past

June 19, 2017

In the middle of one of Portland’s first beautiful Sunday afternoons in 2017, a middle-aged couple crosses downtown’s SW 3rd Avenue holding hands. “Yeah, get back on your side,” shouts a man dressed in black. He is immediately seconded by someone next to him, and then another, and another. “Are you kidding me? We are … More Portland’s Trump vs. Antifa Protest: Mainly trolls, hints of a violent future and reminders of a racist past

The Mass Murder That Hits Every American Nerve

February 3, 2017

Forty-nine people have died and 53 more are wounded following the largest mass shooting in modern American history, which happened Sunday morning between 2-5AM EST. The shooting took place at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The suspected shooter is Omar Mateen, an American citizen who was shot and killed in a SWAT assault after … More The Mass Murder That Hits Every American Nerve

Life Is A Highway: Why Americans Don’t Need Passports

December 30, 2015

I don’t show my patriotic colors all that often, but I’ll never forget how furiously I defended Americans’ love of travel when my multi-national friend told me the statistic that only 30% of us have passports (today it is closer to 46%). At the time, I had just taken a fifteen-day Amtrak ride around the … More Life Is A Highway: Why Americans Don’t Need Passports