Category Archives: The West

Timothy Egan in the NY Times on Legalizing Marijuana, or "California Dreamin'"

Posted on September 30, 2010 by williamjcobb

After my post yesterday of the CNN editorial about the failed War on Drugs, I have to call out Timothy Egan’s excellent op-ed in this morning’s NY Times, under the witty headline “Reefer Gladness.” He even knows the person who’s … Continue reading →

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"Woman Fends Off Attacking Bear With Zucchini"

Posted on September 24, 2010 by williamjcobb

I love bear stories. Especially the kind where a plucky gal manages to fend one off with a large garden vegetable. Thanks to Natalie for sharing this one: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_aaae89f6-c741-11df-9ea6-001cc4c002e0.html We have frequent bear encounters at our Colorado home, and I’ve … Continue reading →

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On Timothy Egan's "The Big Burn," the Boulder Fires, & the Fires to Come

Posted on September 19, 2010 by williamjcobb

“It felt as if the town was under artillery fire, the mile-high walls of the Bitterroots shooting flaming branches onto the squat of houses in the narrow valley below. Between flareups and blowups, the hot wind delivered a continuous stream of sparks and detritus. . . . Earlier in the day, ashes had fallen like soft snow through the haze. At the edge of town, where visibility was better, people looked up and saw thunderheads of smoke, flat-bottomed and ragged-topped, reaching far into the sky” (3). Continue reading →

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Culture Wars in the Heartland: Guntoters Against Socialism, Or George Saunders Was Right

Posted on August 10, 2010 by williamjcobb

Live from St. Louis, Missouri: So I’m travelling across Kansas (after a night in Hays, Kansas, at the Candlewood Suites, which should be renamed the Candlewood Sucks) and pass a billboard proclaiming, “Obama Is a Fraud: Demand Resignation Now!” The … Continue reading →

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Tea Party Politics at a Colorado Landfill

Posted on August 6, 2010 by williamjcobb

So this morning I load up a trailer and head to the Custer County landfill (how backwoods folk in the West dispose of their trash) and the laconic landfill dude notices my Obama-Biden sticker on the back of the car … Continue reading →

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