Ivan's Place

Ivan's Place
In honor of the greatest moralist who never lived
Copyright © 2004 by Bill Becker

Contact me Home page

SpyCop. SpyCop gets great reviews. If you'd like to get a fine spyware finder, and support the site a bit, take a look. Thanks.

Ecology and Environment

Critters

Bats!!
Birds
Fox
Tarantula!!

Energy/Conservation

Solar cooking
Making A Solar Oven

Essays & other writings (In chronological order)

Letter to a Caring Community    (1975)
The Handshake — A Pantomime    (1977)
Somozas, Sandinistas, Contras, and US    (1990)
Reflections on A Sunday Afternoon Bicycle Ride    (1991)
The Mystery of Moral Decision-Making    (1991)
Ivan's Take on NAFTA    (1993)
Intellectual Suicide at the New Republic    Also on NAFTA (1994)
Parody on capital punishment    For Dennis Prager fans.   (2001)
Patriotism    (2004)
History Lesson    (Progressive Writers Bloc, 2004)
The Holy Land - Part I    (Progressive Writers Bloc, 2004)
The Holy Land - Part II    (Progressive Writers Bloc, 2004)
The Selfish, Greedy Rich    A no-spin, fair and balanced discussion.   (2004)
The Non-Selfish, Non-Greedy Rich    Another no-spin, fair and balanced discussion.   (2004)
Dumb or Dishonest?    A fair and balanced discussion of certain defenders of corporate America and laissez-faire capitalism.   (2005)
Operation Healthy Reunions    A plug for a National Mental Health Association program to help soldiers returning from battle—with a twist.  (2005)
The Real Adam Smith    Read this and you will understand the father of capitalism better than most of the economists who quote him.  (2006)
Ralph Peters: Confused Patriot?    A fair and balanced look at one of America's most muscular right-wingers.  (2006)
Too Late for One Marine    (Progressive Writers Bloc, 2006)
Blessed Are The Peacemakers    (2006)
Open Letter to Michael Reagan   (2006)
American Theocracy    (Progressive Writers Bloc, 2006) A recommendation of Kevin Phillips's book of that title.
The Other War    (Progressive Writers Bloc, 2006) More commentary on, and recommendation of, Kevin Phillips's books. Phillips explains the current Republican coalition's role in enriching the top 1 percent of America's families at the expense of everyone else, and he warns of "plutocracy by some other name" if the current trajectory is not reversed.
Regressive Taxation    (Progressive Writers Bloc, 2006) On Measure R, a tax incentive for "major corporations" to locate in Tulare County, California. Written in anticipation of the 2006 mid-term election. Measure R was placed on the ballot by the directors of the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG).
Warriors Who Hate War   (April 10, 2008)
Is John McCain another Dwight D. Eisenhower? Let's hope not.
Arundhati Roy, Meet General William C. Westmoreland   (April 13, 2008)
General Westmoreland proves Arundhati Roy's point.

Social Activism (The photos may take a while to load.)

Iraq War Memorials

Arlington Midwest Iraq War Memorial This page is dedicated to friends in Wisconsin.

Walk of the Fallen (Link to external site)
A beautiful tribute. Located in Washington State, on the western slopes of the Cascades near Mount Rainier.

Central America I went to Central America several times as a worker ant in the movement opposing President Reagan's policy in the region.

Guatemala: My trip to Guatemala and Mexico with Witness for Peace, December 1991 - January 1992.

Nicaragua: Introduction to photos and commentary on my several visits to Nicaragua. Proceed from there.

International March for Peace in Central America: Six-week trek from Panama to Mexico by international peace and justice advocates in support of self-determination in Central America.

The Home Front: A page showing some of the demonstrations in Los Angeles, a hotbed of opposition to President Reagan's brutal imperialist policy in Central America.

Farm Worker Week: My week with the United Farm Workers Union in 1974. See also Dust Bowl Festival.

PeacefireII April 29, 2006; Visalia, California. Meet some really great people who work for peace and justice in California's southern San Joaquin Valley.

Tribute to Crizel My friend Lawrence "Butch" Turk pays a moving tribute to a brave little Filipino girl. Butch and I spent six weeks together on The International March for Peace in Central America from December 10, 1985 to January 24, 1986. (See link above.) Butch is one of those for whose being in the world I am deeply, profoundly, and inexpressibly grateful.

Veterans Fast for Life for Peace in Central America: Fall, 1986. Four U.S. veterans fast on the Capitol steps to protest President Reagan's Central America policy.

Cool Quotes & Other Pith (in alphabetical order)