This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

For me, the answer to this blog headline is that a lot of stuff goes through my mind.

One reason is that I use some of my time any morning to read the Oregonian newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.

So, this morning, based on those reads, here a few thoughts.

IS THERE ROOM FOR HUMOR IN POLITICS?:  Humorist Dave Barry says “yes” – and, of course, he would because that’s the way he makes his living.

I always read Barry at least once a year, when he writes his month-by-month synopsis of politics in the previous year.  My reading is usually marked by guffaws because Barry uses words very well to make me laugh.

He and Post columnist Kathleen Parker got together at the University of Charleston the other day to talk about whether it is even possible for humor to be involved in politics these days.  He says “yes,” as long as you don’t have a thin skin.

Nobody escapes Barry’s humor.

He believes that poking fun at people — left, right, center or otherwise — is a constitutional right, not to mention the American Way.  

Parker writes:  “Barry has never needed a reader warning, in part because he approaches topics as any 13-year-old boy would and in a way with which all humans can identify — such as the sheer terror of one’s first colonoscopy.

“Several years ago, something called the Colossal Colon arrived in Miami. It was large enough to walk through and was intended to educate people about their interiors and the frightful events that can occur there.

“’If you are a professional humor writer, and there is a giant colon within a 200-mile radius, you are legally obligated to go see it,’ he said at the time.  His column not only escaped reader ire, but received an award from an august organization of gastroenterologists.”

I am looking forward to next Barry’s next good work – 2023 in review.

ARE TODAY’S TIMES WORSE THAN ANY OTHER?:  It is possible to believe the answer is yes.  But the truth may lie elsewhere.

A few weeks ago in a meeting, a friend made a comment that he thoughts today’s times were worse than at any other time.

Another friend ventured, “no, that is not the case.”

The difference between now and the past revolves, this second friend said, around the influence of social media.

It is so pervasive.  Much more is known today than in the past, even if what is known can be put down to rumors and lies, not fact.

Regarding the rise of social media, the proportion of U.S. adults who use social media increased from 5 per cent in 2005 to 79 per cent in 2019.  Even on a global stage, the speed of diffusion is striking:  Facebook surged from covering around 1.5 per cent of the world population in 2008 to around 30 per cent in 2018 – and higher today.

Wall Street Journal columnist Karl Rove performed a service a few weeks ago by writing about bad things in the past to help make the point that today’s challenges are similar to the past, not necessarily worse.

The difference:  We know so much more today than did our forebears.  Good?  Who knows?  Bad?  Who Knows?  Worth considering?  Yes.

ANOTHER GREAT VISIT TO BROOKS WINERY:  I have written about Brooks before, but it is one of Oregon’s best.

My wife and I proved it again by going out to Brooks for a mid-afternoon splash of wine yesterday, along with great food.

On the wines:  “From crisp and refreshing whites to bold and complex reds, Brooks selection has something to suit every palate.”

On the Brooks ethic:  “It is the living legacy of the founder, Jimi Brooks.  In all Brooks does, ‘it endeavors to uphold his beliefs in caring for each other and the land.   From Biodynamicfarming on the estate to planting trees around the globe, from looking after the people of Brooks, to making sustainable choices that impact all of us, these commitments live on in the work we do each day.’”

So, if you have a chance, visit Brooks.  You’ll find it to be worth the trip.