David Bucher

Accessories

There’s no doubt in my mind that what I watched on TV over this past weekend, what unfolded on the that icy street in Minneapolis, was murder–plain and simple. Yes, there are degrees of murder, and I’ll leave it for the legal minds to sort out which applies in this case. But if I’m onContinue reading “Accessories”

Lack of Foresight

It always seemed to me that the Chinese would never replace us as global hegemons. It wasn’t their economic strength, nor the size or innovative nature of their population. It was their language. In order to impose your will on the rest of the world you have to impose your culture. Surely English has becomeContinue reading “Lack of Foresight”

Mind the Gap

Thursday had been a perfect day for a ride, but I found some excuse. By Sunday the guilt had overcome me and, on another perfect day, I’d set out with barely a clue as to where I was headed. Up the familiar Rt 501, our escape highway to and over the Blue Mountain, I had anContinue reading “Mind the Gap”

Took the Bait

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the urge to write about this Charlie Kirk thing, despite the real risk that Bondi’s Thought Police might come a’knockin, no matter how carefully I couch it.Truth is, like most of you reading this, I stay in my own media silo. Which means, NY Times, Washington Post, PBS, major network newsContinue reading “Took the Bait”

That Hurts!

“Death by a Thousand Cuts” is more than a Taylor Swift song title. It’s the name of a form of execution, practiced over centuries in China, in which the victims were killed slowly and agonizingly over a protracted period of time, by repeated small cuts to their flesh. In its metaphorical form, it applies toContinue reading “That Hurts!”

The End

Perhaps we’re too focused on the excruciating details. But the 10,000-foot view should tell us that we’re in the midst of a fundamental change. Empires crumble. They always have. And the era of the American Empire is rapidly coming to a close. It’s really not Trump’s fault. He’s just the catalyst. We’re our own undoingContinue reading “The End”

The Enema Within

Anyone with an iota of common sense has known for some time that this country was on the slides. Toxic culture long preceded the rise of Trump. Violence and coarseness have been pouring into every home via their numerous screens. Wokeness runs amok. A populace deadened by the banality of social media, myopic phone addictionContinue reading “The Enema Within”

Ah, Porto

Probably the last place I thought I’d ever end up visiting was Portugal. Whoever hears anything about Portugal? Our visits to Spain had imparted a great respect for the Spanish people and their culture, giving me a kind of bias against Portugal as an Iberian also-ran. Then there was the language. “Everyone” says that PortugueseContinue reading “Ah, Porto”

This Ain’t Really Our Lives

The title of this piece is taken from the words of my oft-mentioned guru, Gil Scott-Heron, possibly at the top of the list of American poets, since he delivered the real, instead of the metaphorical. First performed in 1981, I hope you’ll take the time to listen to this masterpiece.It’s a mere 12 minutes. But,Continue reading “This Ain’t Really Our Lives”

On Kipling

A bit of wine and re-watching my late sister’s Brattleboro, Vermont memorial gathering video has inspired me to write about Rudyard Kipling. For Christmas past I asked for and received a collection of his poetry, all 831 pages of it. Not sure where that amount of love of Kipling came from. Perhaps it was aContinue reading “On Kipling”