Western Friend logo

Search

A search result that only shows a person’s name often links to a list of articles written by that person.

Frontline Housing for Healthcare

March 2020 was daunting for everyone, but especially for frontline healthcare providers: doctors, nurses, CNAs, social workers, paramedics, and chaplains. In addition to the daily stressors of ever-changing workplace policies, harrowing statistics, and not enough PPE (personal protective equipment), frontline workers in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest Regions have had to contend with the juxtaposition of their usual daily tasks and constant vigilance towards the ever-increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients in the hospitals and nursing homes where they work.

On Wealth (May 2020)

Viking Economics – Review

George Lakey’s Viking Economics isn’t a treatise on the economic advantages of pillaging the Northern European coast, although Friends would be forgiven for thinking so! Rather, Viking Economics is an analysis of the “Nordic model” of macroeconomics, liberally laced with Lakey’s own experiences in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. Mr. Lakey interviews noted economists, Nordic political leaders, community organizers, teachers, farmers, and fishermen to answer two basic questions: 1) How have the Scandinavians succeeded in building progressive, democratic, egalitarian and free economies where others failed? and 2) How can the United States (and others) replicate this success?

On Competition (January 2017)

In the Living of These Days

Nothing has made me more appreciative of being alive every day than being a hospital chaplain to the sick and dying.

On Wealth (May 2020)

A Vision from 2050

Thirty years ago this spring, we faced a global pandemic. Over the course of just a few weeks, all of our schools shut down, restaurants and bars closed, movie theaters went dark, and tens of thousands of businesses were shuttered because of a contagious virus. We watched real-life horror stories: people dying in hospital hallways, morgues beyond capacity, and a health care system completely unequipped to meet the needs of working doctors and nurses. The formal economy tanked.

On Wealth (May 2020)

Vaccines and Community

The coronavirus pandemic marches through its surges and plateaus, changing with congregating behavior, pandemic fatigue, and doubts about the seriousness of Covid-19 disease. At this writing in January, new virus variants are appearing with mutations that increase the efficiency of transmission, which means more deaths. The more transmission there is, the more the virus will mutate to escape immunity. The history of influenza is repeating itself. The distribution of two effective Covid-19 vaccines is far short of demand at this time. Even though production and distribution are solvable, practical problems, they are not getting the resources necessary. While cosmetics production remains at full strength in the U.S., vaccine supplies depend on imports. While the country continues to manufacture obsolete fighter jets, it has not built nursing schools to meet our pressing need for healthcare workers over the last fifty years.

On Relevance (March 2021)