All Americans must vote … or be ready for the consequences
All elections have consequences. What will be the consequence of your decision to vote, or not? Both candidates make voting important.
Stories by Mario Salazar
Antonio Villavicencio and the flower vase that led to independence
As the local gentry prepared a banquet for a visiting celebrity, Antonio Villavicencio, a broken flower vase was the catalyst for revolution.
The environmental silver lining of the COVID-19 human quarantine
The COVID-19 human quarantine has had a positive effect on the environment. How can we maintain these good habits, and keep healing our earth.
What we learn when we leave the house; memories of a trip to Oakland
The pandemic quarantine has us all sitting at home, allowing memories of past journies to come to mind. This journey was particularly memorable.
Election 2020: The future of Supreme and Federal Courts is at stake
Elections have consequences and one is the filling of Federal and Supreme court judicial seats. Election 2020 is about the fate of our judiciary
A continent ablaze: Australia’s fires are connected to climate change
The bush fires that burned large swaths of Australia were a perfect storm of climate change and the dry season. Animals died, homes burned, lives lost.
A new gas range delivered with an unexpected Holiday Surprise
In the process of buying and installing a a new gas range, I discovered that this kitchen appliance included an unexpected Holiday Surprise.
Chaos in Venezuela: A once wealthy country’s ongoing debacle under Maduro
Venezuela has rapidly declined from an age of oil-driven prosperity to a Maduro-led era of poverty and chaos for all except the ruling elites.
Will ICE raids effect comprehensive immigration reform?
American desperately needs comprehensive immigration reform and it needs to be bipartisan. Because nothing we are doing now works.
Regulating the “others” in America to a second class citizenship
We all need to be and accept others as citizens. But that requires that everyone be American. that they will love America. Or leave.
How well are we treating our military heroes and their families?
Miitary families are economically failing, without enough moeny to feed their spousea and children, troops are beginning to question their service
The Founder of Cities, Sebastían de Belalcázar from Cordoba to El Dorado
We all come from someone. The writer is a descendant of Sebastían de Belalcázar, as are most people with Castillian heritage.
Single use plastics: Time to ban them before it’s too late
Companies and individuals have made numerous attempts to recycle single use plastics. But most end up in sanitary landfills. Or worse, in our environment.
Is fully funding military armaments keeping America from looking weak?
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD: While the Trump administration has been unique in many ways, it has greatly increased the prominence of one particular sector of the US economy. The armaments industry that President Eisenhower warned us about continues to benefit from our taxes to a great degree. One of the first things President Trump and the ...
Giants of pacifism: Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi
What may standout, however, about these men is that they are the human beings that transcended their own lives, giving of themselves to better the world.
The 21st Century America living in quiet desperation, seeking a Mitzvah
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD. It was a horrendous day. We in the Mid Atlantic US get these days in early winter, 45 degrees with a fine rain. We were receiving donated computer equipment at a Mitzvah. I had recently learned that it translated to something close to “good deeds event”. It was early on a Sunday morning. ...
Does the caravan approaching the border pose a threat to America?
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD: The 2018 mid-term elections are one week away. By this time, we should have a picture of who will have control of the House and the Senate. A Blue Wave is not guaranteed, nor is a Red Tsunami. As we saw in 2016, polls do not tell the whole story. However, headlines may ...
Privilege and entitlement on display in Ford vs Kavanaugh
In addition to the testimony of each witness, Americans also got a rare glimpse into the rarified world of American social privilege and entitlement.
When all you have to give a stranger is $20 and a bottle of water
FROM THE ROAD: The man sat on the curb in front of the convenience store/gas station. It was right off the ramp from the interstate in Alabama. We had just had lunch at a Subway restaurant down the street and stopped at this place before getting back to Interstate 59 North. My wife and son ...
Prison Reform: Ending twenty-first century slavery in the US.
Most industrialized countries have abolished the death penalty with the exception of the US, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Prison reform is necessary.