2024

Thoughts as 2024 draws to a close

A Good Reed Review Commentary & Pubs , , , ,

By Ande Jacobson

I used to write a holiday letter each year to share with friends, mostly those who were far away. At first I sent them in holiday cards via the mail, but over time I started writing them as emails, and later as articles on my website. They detailed my big events through the year. Sometimes they noted my personal accomplishments. Other times they covered my struggles. Over time though, I stopped writing them. Instead, I started writing an end of year essay thinking about what had happened over the year in broader terms. My individual exploits no longer seemed all that important in the grand scheme of things, either to me or to those I cared about. Continue reading →

2024 is going to be a long year

A Good Reed Review Commentary & Pubs , , ,

By Ande Jacobson

Here we are almost a month into a new year, and it’s been eventful so far. 2024 is a consequential presidential election year with democracy on the line, something that’s fast becoming a mainstay of our political process. It wasn’t always this way. There was a time when the two major parties may have preferred different approaches to solving the nation’s problems, but they worked together to try to make things better for everyone. FDR’s New Deal and Eisenhower’s Middle Way were two sides of the same coin from a Democratic and a Republican president respectively. Both held that the government had a role in regulating business, providing a basic social safety net, and aiding in making the U.S. a more fair and equal society. Continue reading →

2023 is finally ending

A Good Reed Review Commentary & Pubs , ,

By Ande Jacobson

So many things happened in 2023 that were unforgettable, many of them things that we wish weren’t happening. By the same token, there has also been some good to come out of 2023, though sometimes it seems harder to find the good given the preponderance of bad news filling the airwaves and the internet on a daily basis.

So what good has happened? Locally, the arts have been recovering and in some respects have just about reached their pre-pandemic levels. San Jose’s Saxophone Christmas had 190 saxophone players making lovely holiday music for those willing to venture out into the uncertain world despite the risks of infection swarming around us. Theater has also returned locally with many lively productions, and music is in the air all around even beyond the return of the saxophones to San Jose. Continue reading →