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Over the Brink

It has been four and a half years since I’ve posted any writings to this website. That’s not entirely unexpected. A line at the top of each page says, “WARNING! This WordPress site is being used by Peter to test how to use this system. It is a jumble of stuff at the moment.” I had not intended Peter.RevSawtell.org to be a place where I published extensive commentaries. But still … four and a half years? My previous commentary (the other two posts about learning WordPress really don’t count) was sent out in the closing days of the first Trump administration, halfway between the insurrection at the US Capitol and the Biden inauguration. I wondered how we, as a nation, could heal from the hurt that we’d just experienced. Not heal emotionally, but heal politically. I played with the idea of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the clear… Read More »Over the Brink

A Call for Truth and Reconciliation

Distributed January 13, 2021 One week ago today, a mob of insurgents attacked the US Capitol during a joint session of Congress. They were attempting to disrupt, or even prevent, the certification of the vote of the Electoral College. Over the weekend, I wrote with some ethical reflections about options which might be considered in response to that crisis: invoking the 25th Amendment, impeachment, and a truth and reconciliation commission. Vice-President Pence has stated that he will not initiate the process for the 25th Amendment. Today, the House is voting on an article of impeachment. And one week from today, Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States. “Interesting times” really doesn’t cover it. In my last mailing, the notion of a truth and reconciliation commission was not well developed, largely because I was not well informed about what that might involve. Over the last… Read More »A Call for Truth and Reconciliation

Making progress …

Well, I’ve been playing with two different WordPress accounts over the last 10 days, and I’m learning some things, but there’s a long way to go. It makes me think of the numerous times I’ve hiked deep into the Grand Canyon. The climb back up to the rim is long, and can feel relentless, but each step gets a bit closer to the goal. So, yes, each round of working with this new system gets me a bit closer to some form of being functional on WordPress. But I’m also aware that, in learning software, there’s no point when I’ll get to the top, and be able to say that “I did it!” I’m rambling on here, because I’ve been wondering how far down I’d have to go until the text wrapped underneath the picture. I guess I’ve found that out. I still don’t know how people can comment on… Read More »Making progress …

Learning WordPress …

As the song says, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” I’ve just installed WordPress with almost no idea about what I’m doing. Today, I’m just exploring the way this works, and trying out some stuff. I’ll probably delete this entire site sometime soon, and start over again with a little better sense of the options. It does seem to me, on a first reaction, that this theme (Twenty Sixteen) has more white space than I’d like. The paragraphs are very spread out, with wide margins. For my long writings, that’s going to make them seem really long! I’ll be interested in seeing reactions and comments from people. So long for now.