Dave Badtke, self-appointed QCounty spokesperson

Carquinez County, QCounty for the spelling challenged, is the smallest county in California, consisting solely of Heart Island, which is situated in the Carquinez Straits near Benicia Beach.

Quiddities:
Musings essential & frivolous

You Must Be Kidding

Contact Dave
My Blog
Article Archive
Solano College
Alameda College
Carquinez Review
Modified 9/7/09

After Editor Les Mahler was fired and Assistant Editor Oliver Symonds quit, this article was not published by the Benicia Herald

Not Published on Sunday,
11/4/2007

Sticky Voting
by Dave Badtke

While some plolitical slogans may be as sticky as gum stuck to the sole of your shoe, where here I'm using the stickiness factor popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point, this catchy slogan may lead to less than desirable public policy.
Read the Article


The Current Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
10/28/2007

The Metonymic Voting Life
by Dave Badtke

A card I received in the mail first freightened me, because the eagle had a very sharp beak, and then gave me hope that it might be an invitation to a party or a coupon to rid my house of rats. But it was none of these things.
Read the Article

Bald Eagle

The Previous Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
10/14/2007

Capitalism in a Box
by Dave Badtke

Capitalism exists to efficiently create profit while democracy exits to inefficiently create equality. Benjamin Barber argues that the latter is essential for the former to work for society rather than against it.
Read the Article

Click for more information

Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
9/30/2007

Unfortunate Initial Conditions
by Dave Badtke

In which I wonder how the nature of our consideration of others might have turned out differently if Jefferson and Adams had approached the Declaration of Independence with more care.
Read the Article

Click for more information

Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
9/16/2007

Semester Riff
by Dave Badtke

Because the Astronomy instructor at College of Alameda vanished, I found myself studying solar systems and gallaxies when I should have been preparing my English lesson plans.
Read the Article

Click for more information

Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
9/9/2007

To Change Or Not To Change
by Dave Badtke

Maya Strausberg's leaving the Herald reminds me of this column I wrote in 2001 about change. At the time a friend asked me if I had been high when writing it. He didn't say high on what, but if he meant high on the possibility of an ever-changing life until the day of death, then I surely was flying sky high.
Read the Article


Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
8/26/2007

Defining A Good Education
by Dave Badtke

Could it be that the means to measure a good edcation have been there all the time since teachers have always given grades that are a resonable measure of performance?
Read the Article

Egg Vise

Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
8/19/2007

Hallway to Candy Heaven:
Spoonful of Sugar in Benicia
by Dave Badtke

DeeDee Reynolds and her husband Ed own this haven for candy lovers, especially those who can't live without licorice.
Read the Article

Spoonful of Sugar
Spoonful of Sugar in Benicia

Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
8/12/2007

Bush Ethics
by Dave Badtke

Getting mad and not wanting to take it anymore after trying to listen to President Bush's recent news conference, I calm my emotions by using RSVP Ethics to analyze the morality of our 43rd president.
Read the Article

President George W. Bush
President George W. Bush reads over a draft of his State of the Union speech in the Oval Office

Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
8/5/2007

RSVP Ethics
by Dave Badtke

I claimed last week that what's missing from the discussion of our most complex problems is a clear and shared ethical language. This week, in an effort to address this deficiency, I propose a morality mnemonic, RSVP, that I hope will be a toolkit my English students can use to include ethics in their critical reading and writing.
Read the Article

SF Chron Paul Chinn Photo
When you find a wallet lying on the ground, what do you do?

Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
7/29/2007

What's Missing?
by Dave Badtke

Something seems to be missing from our sense of who we are as Americans. When I watched Sicko, I found it missing when Michael Moore asked us to think about who we are and how we can allow so many in our country to suffer from lack of healthcare.
Read the Article

SF Chron Paul Chinn Photo
A Paul Chinn photo from the Nevius article in the San Francisco Chronicle

Benicia Herald Article

Published on Sunday,
7/22/2007

Musings On Waste
by Dave Badtke

In which I gripe about moral(e), student and environmental waste, and in which I promise, in next-week's column, to offer explications and actions.
Read the Article

Stripped Sycamore
Stripped sycamore on East Second Street just north of Military

Article Archive You can find these and previous articles by following this link, which will open in a new window.