rpoydock

The Masks I Wear

The pandemic has provided us with a new form of self-expression … the face mask. Here are a few that I wear. The first mask depicts Fred Rogers and François Clemmons recreating a scene from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. On a summer day, Mr. Rogers invites Officer Clemmons to join him in cooling off his feetContinue reading “The Masks I Wear”

An American Hero

One of my springtime rituals is to watch Ken Burn’s “Baseball” documentary in anticipation of the baseball season. The documentary is structured into innings that cover individual decades. Last night, I watched the 1940s disc, much of which is devoted to Jackie Robinson and his historic breaking of Major League Baseball’s color barrier. The BrooklynContinue reading “An American Hero”

Voting Rights in an Equality Issue

One of the principles of democracy is one person, one vote. However, the United States has a structural problem that the Founders did not anticipate. The vote of a Wyomingite carries more weight than a Californian because of the small-state bias of the Senate and the Electoral College. And the residents of the District ofContinue reading “Voting Rights in an Equality Issue”

Infinite Growth on a Finite Planet

“We have a finite environment—the planet. Anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist.” – David Attenborough https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10060198-we-have-a-finite-environment-the-planet-anyone-who-thinks-that Economists like to remind us that the economy is not a zero-sum game in which for someone to win, someone else has to lose. AnContinue reading “Infinite Growth on a Finite Planet”

A Pecking Order that Needs to Be Shaken Up

An author that has influenced my worldview is linguist/cognitive scientist George Lakoff. Two of his books are Moral Politics and Don’t Think of an Elephant. Both books explore the differences in how liberals and conservative think and provide recommendations on how to frame political arguments. One of the metaphors that Lakoff uses is the “strictContinue reading “A Pecking Order that Needs to Be Shaken Up”

Economics for the Rest of Us 101

So you want to learn more about economic justice but don’t know where to start? Here are a couple of suggestions. The work of Robert Reich. He’s a little guy who looks out for the little guy and makes the principles of a just economy easy to understand. Check out his documentary Inequality for AllContinue reading “Economics for the Rest of Us 101”

Green Party Values

A few years ago, I took an online quiz that helped to determine which political party was closest to my views. My positions were closest to the Green Party at around 98% followed by the Democratic Party at around 90%. I did a little research and found that the Green Party has a list ofContinue reading “Green Party Values”

One Step Further

You may have seen the meme that illustrates the difference between equality and equity in one of its many variations. You know the one with the three children of different heights standing on boxes to look over a fence and watch a ball game. In the first panel labelled Equality, each child has a box.Continue reading “One Step Further”

Welcome

This blog is about what I call the three E’s: equity, environment, and economic justice, which are three mega-categories of issues that I care about. At this point in history, our country is in a crisis as we battle a pandemic. The pressing need is to slow the virus so that our lives can returnContinue reading “Welcome”