By Solveig Torvik Five years ago this month, Barack Hussein Obama surfed into the Oval Office on a massive wave of adulation and hope. That wave has collapsed and receded, leaving Obama stranded on a shoreline littered with the detritus of disappointment, failure and plunging poll numbers. Some of this is just the normal ebb […]
Hello?
American, um, exceptionalism
By Solveig Torvik Just the other day, in the midst of the already-forgotten Syrian crisis, our very good friend President Vladimir Putin of Russia sent us Americans warm greetings, plus advice on how to improve our national character. He’s disturbed, it seems, that we keep harping on how exceptional we are as a nation. “It […]
Speed kills
By Solveig Torvik As a reward for fealty and forbearance, readers of this column from time to time are treated to free financial advice. This month is just such an occasion, and here it is: Invest in oyster and Alaska king crab futures. That is, if you can figure out how to give them a […]
The irreversible tipping point
By Solveig Torvik During these lovely summer days here in our Magic Methow World, the last thing anyone wants to hear about is unlovely weather. But pesky climate scientists persist in annoying us with weather forecasts none of us want to hear. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) already has laid the American Meteorological […]
And there’s more!
July 31, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK Thinking of giving up email in favor of old-fashioned snail mail delivered by the United States Postal Service to avoid government snooping? Or thinking of giving up Internet shopping and going back to old-timey brick and mortar stores to protect your privacy? Think again. We’ve hardly digested the news […]
June 26, 2013
BY SOLVEIG TORVIK “The administration claims authority to sift through details of our private lives because the Patriot Act says it can. I disagree. I authored the Patriot Act, and this is an abuse of that law.” –Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. It appears the 9/11 terrorists were far more successful in weakening fundamental American […]
All aboard for the global train wreck
May 29, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK It blew right by you, didn’t it? The biggest news of the month, I mean. Arguably the biggest news in millions of years. But you surely can’t be held responsible for missing it. It was gone from the news cycle in the blink of an eye. Really, it was […]
Secrets of the world’s best education system
March 27, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK The news of Methow Valley School Superintendent Mark Wenzel’s departure invites us to think about our schools, and not just here in the valley. Wenzel came to the job as a non-traditional candidate with a self-described “passion for learning.” To its credit, the school board took a chance on […]
Nightmareliner
Feb. 20, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK “The Dreamliner was supposed to become famous for its revolutionary design. Instead, it’s become an object lesson in how not to build an airplane.” – James Surowiecki, The New Yorker Hate government regulation? Love outsourcing jobs? Boeing’s Dreamliner is the airplane for you. This aircraft’s the hottest thing in […]
The heat’s on in Ultima Thule
June 27, 2012 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK ILULISSAT, GREENLAND – If you want to see what a warmer climate portends, come to Greenland. There’s more going on here, though, than just a rapidly melting ice cap and spectacular scenery bathed in crystal clear Arctic light. Greenland’s hot – in more ways than one. Since 1951, its […]
