Water: An Endangered Species?

by Madeleine Kando

I am visiting Kauai, also known as the Garden island, the oldest and most beautiful of the Hawaiian islands. Like a tiny speck of dirt, it sits in the middle of 64 million square miles of ocean, with the closest land mass 2400 miles away. Looking out the window of my rented condo on the cliffs of northern Kauai, it feels like I am on the bow of a ship. In all directions there is only water, water and more water. Read more...

Defining Paul Ryan

by Madeleine Kando

Everyone is trying to define Paul Ryan, the young, ambitious Republican Congressman that Romney chose as his running mate in the 2012 Presidential elections.

Romney himself has portrayed Ryan as ‘a reluctant budget warrior who went to Washington to change the status quo’ (conveniently forgetting that Ryan is the ultimate insider. He never ‘went’ to Washington, he was always there).

Paul Ryan is the Tea Party’s hero. He is one of the ‘Young Guns’ in the Republican Party. He is also the author of the proposed budget plan ’A Roadmap for America’s Future’, a plan that would essentially do away with most of the social welfare programs in this country. He is a true ideologue who believes in Social Darwinism: ‘Reward the rich, penalize the poor, let everyone else fend for themselves. Dog eat dog,’ as Robert Reich so aptly says in his article ‘The Ryan Choice’. Read more...

Breaking Up with God

By Madeleine Kando

Jane received an early morning phone call from God the day after she arrived. She was still jetlagged and barely knew where she was, but she recognized God's voice right away. A jolt went through her and she was transported back into a distant past, a long forgotten time in her life when she was still naïve and full of expectations. Why call her now, after all these years? Was he trying to correct the rotten way he had broken up with her? Not only did he break up, he gave her no warning of any kind. One day he was there, holding her hand, making her feel accepted and safe, the next day he had disappeared, leaving her to wonder if he had just left or dumped her for someone else? Read more...