Spirit Freed

Change Congress

Stanford Law Professor and founder of the Creative Commons, Lawrence Lessig, is starting a new movement aimed at reducing corruption in politics. Lessig's contention is that the fundamental obstacle preventing political change is not a misunderstanding or disagreement over policy, but instead a lack of transparency and, therefore, accountability. Because campaigns are ...

For Emma, Forever Ago

Justin Vernon's debut album, "For Emma, Forever Ago" is steeped in mysticism, romance, and the deep spirit of nature. Vernon sings under the pseudonym "Bon Iver" a slight modification of the French bon hiver, meaning "good winter", and indeed there is an intimate presence of the cold and dark penetrating nights of winter pulsating throughout the album. In making the album, Vernon retired himself to an isolated log cabin during a Wisconsin winter for what he called a period of "hibernation". I li...

On Moral Courage

On the eve of the anniversary of the assassination of MLK Jr., I thought it would be appropriate to post a video here of one of King's less popular speeches. Less popular because it does not showcase his familiar vision of racial and spiritual harmony, but instead criticizes America as hegemonic, militaristic and arrogant. Less popular because it instead promulgates the idea that dissent is perhaps the most fundamental tenet of our democracy and because King tied together the damage caused by an...