Totalitarianism is a form of government / political system that prohibits opposition, outlaws individual and group challenges to state-sponsored claims, suppresses free speech, freedom of movement, and freedom of philosophical beliefs / religion, exerting excessive control and regulation over public and private life. How do we recognize a totalitarian state in the making? Answers to…
In the summer of 2022, three members of our Editorial Team gathered in a garden to discuss our Island’s media landscape. No one newspaper can do it all, we concluded, and voila! The Vashon Loop was rebirthed, under new ownership! At the same time, the cost of paper and fuel skyrocketed. Two months later, we…
Starting with this issue, The Vashon Loop has updated its editorial policies to clarify that AI-generated art and writing are not eligible for publication in the paper or on the web site. I felt like I should explain my reasons for proposing this new policy, and why I’m pleased it has been adopted. Why do…
Many of us have heard the story of a regretful young George Washington who, upon being accused of harming his father’s cherry tree, said something along the lines of, “I cannot tell a lie … I did cut it with my hatchet.” This story perfectly illustrates the well-understood and universally accepted axiom that honesty is…
Last issue, we suggested that nature expresses in the language its people speak, especially over generations, when the people have a rich relationship with place. Here in the Puget Sound region, the language of land, sea, and people is called txʷəlšucid (which sounds a bit like “twuhlshootseed”). It is also known as dxʷləšucid, or xʷəlšucid,…
Since the advent of the printing press, around 1436, by German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg (and much earlier, in China and Korea), the written word has had a staggering effect on our world. Venice – a primary, Mediterranean shipping hub in the late 15th century – was fertile ground for a fledgling global news network, as…
By Andy Valencia The world is coming for you, no invitation needed. Your phone rings, a notification chimes, a spam pops into your inbox. For every time your phone rings and it’s a loved one, there are many more selling you extended warranties or potency pills. We give them their very own words, like “spammer”…
If you haven’t heard of Substack, you’re in for a treat! Substack is an online platform designed to support writers, bloggers, philosophers, citizen journalists, and literary creatives of all types. The designers of Substack believe good writing is invaluable. What we read, what we learn, what we think, and how we engage in the world…
“It was a pleasure to burn.” As many remember, that is the opening line to “Fahrenheit 451.” Published in 1953, it still occupies the #7 spot on the New York Public Library’s list of their most-borrowed books of all time. Its author, a pulp magazine story writer from the Midwest, tapped most of it out on…
Perhaps language arose with humans as a kind of call-and-response with the natural world. In the midst of the companionable sounds around us, we found ourselves with things to say in turn. In any case, nature expresses in our languages. We can hear the waters, aspects of geography, animals, birds, weather, and temperature in the…