America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves... It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters.

Unfortunately, that still leaves plenty of Americans who don't read much or think much -- who will still be extremely useful in unjust wars. We are sick about that. We did the best we could.

It was a thunderingly beautiful experience-voluptuous, sexual, dangerous, and expensive as hell.

The library is full of stories of supposed triumphs which makes me very suspicious of it. It's misleading for people to read about great successes, since even for middle-class and upper-class white people, in my experience, failure is the norm.

Here's what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey.

Life is no way to treat an animal.

Perhaps I am the turtle, able to live simply anywhere, even underwater for short periods, with my home on my back.