What I Think About What Other People Say (WITAWOPS)

Who doesn’t know Ghalib? He’s a good poet with a terrible reputation. Although there are other excellent poets, they say Ghalib excels them. All your life, O Ghalib, you repeated the same mistake: Your face was dirty, but you kept cleaning the mirror! Three different verses by Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869), loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Mirza Ghalib Yes, I was named for this legendary south asian poet who wrote in both urdu and farsi. I have his name, his books, and have visited the Ghalib Academy and adjacent Ghalib's mausoleum in New Delhi. I would often get asked to deliver my poetry, after my namesake. My retorts have always been that I don't write poetry out of respect for his greatness and I did not want him turning in his grave. Mirza Ghalib's portrait [Wikimedia Commons] But now, half a century later, I decided to give it a shot. Here is my very first poem (updated): The wheel. Yes, it is round, But still, it’s much more as I’ve found. Tending my g...

I live in King County, Washington. The county hosts the cities of Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond, along with 33 other incorporated cities and towns. Ask anyone. King obviously refers to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After all, its easy to find following type of comment: King County, Washington's largest county, is the first county in the nation to be named in honor of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), the celebrated civil rights leader and advocate of nonviolence.  We see his silhouette on our buses, our government buildings, and the county flag.  Image courtesy of freepik.com But wait a minute Think about this. The county pre-dated Dr. King. Therein lies the irony. For over a century and a half, our county was actually was named after a man who stood for everything Dr. King spent his life trying to dismantle. Yes, for sure. The county has been "King County" since it was created in 1852, When the Oregon Territorial Legislature carved out this land. They n...

I take on Bill Gates after a two month WITAWOPS hiatus, I checked the blog statistics and found that, surprisingly, it is active. I don’t know why the uptick in traffic this month (see the graph below), but you all have inspired me to start writing again. Lets talk about climate change. Which means I have to start with this: The views expressed are solely mine, published under my 1st amendment rights. They may not reflect the views of the U.S. Government or any of its past, present, or future agencies. Someone sent me Bill Gates’ recent (October) blog post, Three Tough Truths About Climate , in which he appears to argue that we should spend money on malaria and malnutrition and not on climate change. My gut reaction, before reading the post, was shock. Save people from malaria (which Gates and others have been fighting for decades now, in fact, the U.S. military has been conducting research on it in Kenya for over decades. See their latest post “ 20 years of Army research yields hope f...

WITAWOPS turned one year old. My first blog post on October 13, 2024,  You too can change the world  was a synopsis of my 2021 book reflecting on how I believe I changed the world in my own unique ways. This blog is contributing to that effort. I started WITAWOPS (What I Think About What Other People Say) because I had a lot of opinions about things people said. And I wanted to share them. Most posts reflect on a quote, discuss what I think, and end with why you should care. It’s been an interesting, eye-opening, and self-reflecting year. I’ve enjoyed [most] of it! What Do I Think 1. It’s harder than I thought.  I was asked how much time I spend on each post. About an hour writing and editing but more time during the week thinking. I've toyed with A.I. (see the post about  me vs. ChatGPT ). The week's topic has to jump out at me at some point before Friday and given that I really dislike procrastinating, I start getting antsy if I don’t have a topic by Thursday ...

We live in a state with rules and those rules guarantee certain freedoms. When put together, some interpret those collective freedoms as sovereignty and what better way to demonstrate ultimate sovereignty than to build and run your own city?  Source: ChatGPT, 10/9/25 Is there really a substantial difference between the 1980s Oregon desert city of Rajneeshpuram and the 2020s Texas coastal flats city of Starbase? If you need a quick refresher on Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the city he legally incorporated in Oregon, read my February 15, 2025 post .  What Do I think I believe they are inherently the same and a precursor of more to come. Cities normally grow organically in that people settle, attract people, jobs, arts, and culture, and then eventually incorporate for self-governance. But both Rajneeshpuram and Starbase were born out of visions from their leaders: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and Elon Musk. There was no natural evolution. Sure, the labels are different: religious leaders...

The Supreme Court added another shovel of dirt on USAID's coffin, now more than 6 feet under (see my earlier  obituary ). This post articulates another of USAID’s many little-known accomplishments in Kenya (read about the first one about thwarting politicians and constitutional change here ). Peace and Security in Kenya: The USAID Approach , is now available in paperback and e-book at your favorite bookstore. Please also ask your local library to order it too. “We found an institution so frail in its structures; so thin on resources; so low on its confidence; so deficient in integrity; so weak in its public support that to have expected it to deliver justice was to be wildly optimistic. We found a judiciary that was designed to fail.” —Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, “Progress Report on the Transforma- tion of the Judiciary: The First 120 Days,” speech, Nairobi, Kenya, October 19, 2011 What Do I Think  The 2007/2008 postelection violence in Kenya was triggered by the “massively ...

Having worked on a number of environmental analyses for airports in the early 2000s, I continue to track interesting cases. I am also exploring the limitations of ChatGPT. Several months ago, I learned (thanks to my teenager) the difference between my writing and ChatGPT’s. More recently, colleagues have insisted that ChatGPT 5.0 is much better. So I am putting it to the test.  Below are two versions of the same story. One is mine. The ChatGPT prompt was: “for my blog, witawops.blogspot.com, write a piece in my style on the dissenting opinion in this case . Leave a comment indicating which is mine and which is AI’s. Disclaimer: the views expressed in this post are solely my own, published under my first amendment rights, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government or any of its current or former federal agencies. Version 1.0 “Does anyone doubt that this Environmental Analysis would not see the light of day if this project were sited anywhere near the we...

Even Shane knew you can’t run from who you are, and violence—no matter the reason—leaves a permanent mark. Shane is the protagonist of a 1949 book by Jack Shaefer set in 1889 Wyoming. He is the basis of a movie (1953) and TV series (1966) and debuted on stage circa 2023. I saw the play this week in Ashland, Oregon.  This south central Oregon city has a long-standing nexus to theater. Because of its architecture, it became the site of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 1935 and is now among the largest repertory theaters in the U.S., drawing half a million visitors each year. “A man’s got to be what he is, Joey. Can’t break the mold. There’s no living with a killing. There’s no going back from one. Right or wrong, it’s a brand. A brand sticks.” Shane (1953), dir. George Stevens. Joey (Bob in the book) is a young boy who serves as the audience’s eye in the play. However, in the book, Bob is an adult narrating the story from his childhood.  Image by Freepix  What Do I think ...

The word ethics comes from the latin, ethos ,  defined as “the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution.” Contemporary debates about ethics generally center on things like artificial intelligence or medicine.  The former is neither person, group nor institution and its only ethics are what we build into it or what it learns from its creators. See this  story  about a male AI robot in Saudi Arabia groping a female reporter.  Ethics in the field of medicine (think of assisted end-of-life) is derived from a whole host of entities including the doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and lawmakers.  What do I think Go back to the Merriam-Webster definition of  ethos . It starts with  a person . A.I. or a hospital or a legislature cannot have an independent ethic; its ethic must reflect the collective ethic of its constituents. Therefore, it all depends on you and me. Our individual ethic...

Staging is a layered, complex, and interesting word.   “ Staging is the fine art of pretending your lived environment has always resembled an IKEA showroom. Sociologists call this ‘false consciousness’; Realtors call it ‘value added.’” “Every home showing is just Hamlet without the swords: you stand in someone else’s kitchen, whispering, ‘To buy, or not to buy?’ while the throw rug takes center stage.” “ Staging : the process of arranging items in a manner designed to suggest functionality, but not actual human occupation. See also: government flowcharts.” ---  witticisms generated by ChatGPT, 9/4/2025 That's AI's wit. The dictionary definition includes the method of presenting a play, a temporary platform, a phase in a progressive disease, and the arrangement of sequential components of a rocket. But in North America, it includes setting up a house for sale with art and furnishings so as to increase the appeal. A.I. now allows one to stage and unstage. A potential buyer ...

Most of the world celebrates labor day on May 1st. Ironically, the U.S. doesn't even though the impetus for the day originated in Chicago. Why is this the case and why does Canada follow suit? “This is a day of dedication. It is a day on which America salutes her workers, not with the blare of guns, but with the recognition of honest toil.” -- Woodrow Wilson (1916, Labor Day address in Buffalo, NY) After the Haymarket Affair in Chicago in 1886, May 1st became associated with the international labor movement. The map shows the countries that observe it on May 1st.  World map highlighting countries that observe May 1st Labor Day.  Generated with OpenAI’s ChatGPT (DALL·E), August 29, 2025. Notice Canada and the U.S. stand out: they sidestepped May 1st as an official holiday to avoid the socialist/communist associations with the day. Ask A.I or start here for more information.  As you enjoy the end of the northern hemisphere summer or the southern hemisphere winter, empathize...

Many people think that in following well-established rules and policies, government officials don't have to make difficult business decisions. That is not true. Sometimes they do because of competing interests. Here is one example of a decision that FEMA has to make.  Disclaimer: the views expressed in this post are solely my own, published under my first amendment rights, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government or any of its current or former federal agencies. The material used below is all in the public domain, as published by FEMA in August 2025.  Because of the interaction between the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in Oregon and the Endangered Species Act, FEMA will select from one of three alternatives they have analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  Here is FEMA's own summary of the impacts of those three alternatives (Source:  https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_r10_oregon-nfip-eis-br...

The 40-day mourning period for USAID has passed (see my earlier obituary ). This post articulates one of USAID’s many little-known accomplishments.  “I want to emphasize the unwavering determination of the United States to push for and support implementation of the reform agenda. President Obama and Secretary Clinton believe strongly that Kenya must seize this historic opportunity to bring about fundamental change. . . . The constitution is, in many respects, the sine qua non of the reform process. Without a new constitution, implementation of other reforms will not prove sufficient to steer the country in the right direction. If a new constitution is put in place, then implementation of other reforms, along with the new constitution, will help ensure future democratic stability and prosperity.” —Ambassador Michael Ranneberger, “Reform, Partnership, and the Future of Kenya,” speech, American Chamber of Commerce, Nairobi, January 26, 2010.  What Do I Think: A constitution is a ...

During my recent visit to Portugal, I struggled to see any evidence that Muslims had lived in, governed, and expanded the country. This rich history was painted over with several coats and labelled as “medieval”.  The Spanish and Portuguese called them Moors; they were in fact Muslims from North Africa who crossed over the Mediterranean and settled in Al-Andalusia (Iberian Peninsula). They left us significant elements that we cherish today, including the Al-Hambra and the grand mosques of Cordoba and Seville. They also left things we use every day but don’t recall their origin: medicine, baths, architecture, science, and art. Muslims governed for over 500 years; they built, wrote, irrigated, walled, created knowledge, and ruled until they were expelled in 1249. The Jews were expelled two centuries later.  Sintra I started in Sintra, 30km (19 miles) from Lisbon. Sintra has a highly effective and unique micro-climate. Several old palaces dot the landscape, many featured in movie...

What exactly is a “British” museum if it is not about British history, culture, society, or people? Why does the British Museum proudly announce their thievery and wickedness.   Ghanaian Gold Regalia on British Museum website. https://www.britishmuseum.org/terms-use/copyright-and-permissions#re-use-of-images Wandering the museum's diverse galleries last week, filled with wide-eyed tourists and weary tour groups, I noticed two blatant brilliantly-lit messages. 1. We proudly display the stuff we have stolen, and  2. We offer artifacts (old and modern) to tell stories of the places we conquered.  Since I’ve lived in five former British colonies: Kenya, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Virginia, I was very curious about the museum and these messages. The museum invites visitors to “experience cultures across the globe, from the dawn of human history to the present.”  In my mind, that would actually be a World Culture Museum. But it really is a World Coloni...