Monthly Archives: September 2021

Book Review – An Unlikely Truth by John Rachel

Here’s my book review of An Unlikely Truth, a novel by John Rachel.

(Not to be confused with An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore or A Delicate Truth by John Le Carré.)

Democracy at both the local and national levels recently has been under savage assault. In this fictional story, protagonist Martin Truth’s fight was one of many such struggles to restore the meaning of representative government to a system that had been corrupted by big money and corporate power.

In this political drama, a bright, young, idealistic Green Party candidate, in his bid for the congressional seat of a conservative district in Ohio, teams with a beautiful, fiery, African-American intern to combat the slick deceptions and ruthless tactics of a sweet-talking right-wing incumbent.

This is the inspiring story of a small committed group of activists who either never knew or have forgotten the meaning of the word impossible. More importantly, it embodies hope that not all is lost, that there’s a narrative which can begin to put America back on track and render government again of the people by the people and for the people

An Unlikely Truth was published in 2014, just as the early presidential primaries got underway and well before the sensational and controversial election of 2016. Both before and after the election, there was a resurgence of grassroots political action on both the left and the right. If you’re among the people who fear that the politics of hope, are a thing of the past, you will probably regard this book as dated. If instead you describe yourself as an activist john Rachel’s vision of America may look like a glimpse of the future.

Update note: In today’s “post-truth” era, and considering all that has transpired in American politics since 2016, the question remains: Are the “politics of hope” so… yesterday?

Harry Harambee'd Kenyan Sundowner: A Novel

Harry never planned to reinvent his life at this age. He went from tourist and passive observer to reluctantly committed resident. Here is conspiracy and intrigue on the white sands of the Indian Ocean.

 

Thinking About Thinking #41 – Unlikely, Unbelievable, and Astonishing!

Did you ever reflect on how unlikely it is that the apparent size of the Moon and the Sun are so nearly the same? From the standpoint of astrophysics, there is no reason why this coincidence should exist. There’s nothing about the size of the moon or gravitational balance between the Earth and the other two bodies that would cause the virtual sizes in the sky to match up so remarkably.

And then consider that the full solar eclipse is possibly the most significant recurring event in human cultures throughout history. Awe-inspiring. Significant, for all kinds of invented explanations.

Whether you credit creationism, intelligent design, extraterrestrial engineers, or extraordinarily unlikely random events, all you need to do is look up to get the message:

This is a very special place!

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