Not that there’s anything wrong with smoking pot now and again

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Articles by Dr. Wes Browning

Decolonizing our collective work but paid only $10 a day

by Dr. Wes Browning | December 18th, 2019

I’ve been expecting to be a juror ever since I was called up for jury duty in July. I’d done jury duty before and loved it. It was sort of like “12 Angry Men,” only it was six men and six women, and they weren’t so angry. They wanted to finish and go home...

I have been initiated into the 21st century — against my will

by Dr. Wes Browning | December 11th, 2019

Less than two weeks ago, I was reaffirming to all within the sound of my voice that I would never, ever own or use a cellphone. Now I won’t have to shout it so loudly. I’ll just be able to call everyone I know while I walk down the sidewalk, thanks to my...

Last week, the oldest living American died and passed her title to the new oldest living American

by Dr. Wes Browning | December 4th, 2019

You can imagine this sort of thing happens frequently, although I don’t remember ever before seeing “oldest living American” specified. It’s always been the presumed oldest living human or oldest living man or oldest living woman. I guess this country is...

‘The Universe is Made of Tiny Bubbles’ would have pleased Lawrence Welk

by Dr. Wes Browning | November 27th, 2019

Real Change columnist

The process of preparing these columns consists of spending way too much time on the internet looking at news stories and bookmarking them, in the off chance I might use them when I actually sit down to write. And then, usually, not using them. I have...

O, give me a home where the buffalo roam. Or just one buffalo

by Dr. Wes Browning | November 20th, 2019

Real Change columnist

I’m rationing my viewing of the impeachment hearings. I have to consider my blood pressure. I’m amazed at how many of the legislators, when they could be asking the witnesses questions, choose to show off their failure to grasp the fact that impeachment isn...

I admit to being born in the wrong place. Most of us were, including people who are homeless

by Dr. Wes Browning | November 13th, 2019

Real Change columnist

According to an article in the online Seattle PI, the U.S. Census Bureau says less than half of the people living in Washington state in 2018 were born here. They also say nearly two-thirds of Seattleites were born in other states. A reader survey done in...

Maybe we could satisfy them by renaming Westlake Avenue — a trajectory to City Hall — Amazon Way

by Dr. Wes Browning | November 6th, 2019

Real Change columnist

I cannot, yet again, glimpse enough of the future. When this is printed, there will have been an election of some importance. How will it have gone? How could I know? I’m stuck back here at the end of last week. It’s not that I want to know which candidates...

Let’s put a restaurant as high as we can without so much as a barber shop or a haberdashery on the way up

by Dr. Wes Browning | October 30th, 2019

Real Change columnist

Something I’ve learned over the years: Seattle can’t ever have anything cheap. Not since 1962, when we spent millions of dollars to put a spinning restaurant more than 500 feet in the air, completely out of reach for the average, out-of-shape pedestrian...

Trump and company want the ’50s back but without the funding

by Dr. Wes Browning | October 23rd, 2019

Real Change columnist

Every time I sit down to write a column, “insert column here:” faces me, because I put it there the night before. There are times that’s the only way I can get started. This is one of those times. I hate this week’s news. I want to go back to the good old...

Not that there’s anything wrong with smoking pot now and again

by Dr. Wes Browning | October 16th, 2019

Real Change columnist

I’m trying hard to not talk about Trump. But it’s so hard. He says it’s OK to abandon the Kurds to the Turkish armed forces because the Kurds didn’t help the United States in World War II. This makes me feel good about watching the U.S. House of...