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Richmond Shreve is a retired business executive whose careers began in electronics (USN) and broadcasting in the 1960s. Over the years he has maintained a hobby interest in amateur radio, and the audio-visual arts while working in sales and marketing. For the last thirty years he was co-owner and CEO of the Middlebrook Crossroads business park (Edmar Corporation) in Bridgewater, NJ. He holds a lifetime FCC Second Class Commercial license, and an amateur radio General Class license (W2EMU). In 2012 Richmond retired from instructing sports car owners in high performance driving techniques at major tracks including NJ Motorsports Park, Watkins Glen, and Summit Point. He is the author and publisher of the Instructor Candidate Manual used by BMWCCA and other car clubs to train their on-track instructors.
Prior to moving to Newtown,PA, he volunteered as chief engineer of WCFA the Cape May, NJ community radio station as well as working as a gaffer on the Cape May Film Festival technical crew, a driver/engineer in the Cape May Point Volunteer Fire Company, served as its Treasurer and as Treasurer of its Firemen's Relief Association. He edited and printed the Cape May Point Taxpayer's Association Newsletter.
As a computer power user, graphic artist, photographer, and website designer he helps nonprofits build and maintain web sites. He is a fromer Vestry member of the Episcopal Church of the Advent.
Richmond is a citizen journalist and former Senior Editor at OpEdNews.com, a progressive news and opinion site on the internet.
Richmond lives with his wife Marguerite Chandler in Newtown, PA wher he continues to write essays ad short fiction. They travel extensively with their fifth wheel RV.
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Books:
Lost River Anthology (Amazon.com)
Instructor Candidate Manual (LuLu.com)
(35 comments) SHARE Monday, September 10, 2012 The US is Broke -- Not!
Fears that the US is going broke abound and are unfounded. But there is a whisper campaign afoot to amplify them for political gain. This cynical belief is convenient and useful to the GOP in their bid for power in November. One element of the fear campaign is a video reportedly produced by a retired IBM accountant that shows [old news] that US tax revenue is insufficient to operate the government after entitlements are paid.
(17 comments) SHARE Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Barstool Economics - A Viral Conservative Fable
Viral stories on the internet purport to give a simple lesson in economics to liberal intellectuals who favor progressive taxation. This one's entertaining, but misleading. Use it to calibrate your BS meter. Series: Thinker's Tool Kit (6 Articles, 12475 views)
(54 comments) SHARE Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Infiltrating the Truth Movement
An academic treatise on conspiracy theories has provoked howls of outrage among those who call themselves the truth movement. The paper can hardly be considered news, it was first released as a draft in January of 2008. But when of one of its authors, Cass Sunstein, became part of the Obama administration, the appointment alarmed conspiracists because his paper advocates "cognitive infiltration of extremist groups." Series: Thinker's Tool Kit (6 Articles, 12475 views)
(7 comments) SHARE Friday, March 26, 2010 What is Coffee Party USA?
Grass roots, bottom-up, democracy. Coffee Party USA seeks to move America away from extremes, out of the clutches of special interests, and into an age of civic duty and community. Imagine that.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, May 28, 2014 O'Reilly -- On Obama and the Race Problem
The conservative whisper-net is circulating a video clip of Bill O'Reilly delivering an impassioned opinion piece that articulates a demonstrably wrong analysis of "President Obama and the Race Problem." He's wrong in too many ways to enumerate, but his rant is a good motivator to read Tim Weiss' book that details why.
(5 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 6, 2009 How I Became a "Bestselling" Author
Richmond Shreve describes how his wife Marguerite made him a bestselling author and explains how self-publishing gives authors a path to profit and recognition where it most feeds the spirit -- among those we are closest to.
(56 comments) SHARE Friday, December 5, 2008 Roots of Conspiracy Exposed
The conspiracy theories that abound on the internet are produced by a malfunction of a basic process in human thinking: patternicity. The buzz about a 9/11 conspiracy is a classic example.
SHARE Wednesday, September 9, 2009 Real Food at School?
Slow Food USA, and organization that promotes the desirability of locally grown, minimally processed foods, organized an National Day of Action in which tens of thousands across the us gathered to support better food in schools.
(5 comments) SHARE Tuesday, December 2, 2008 Obama: Join the Conversation
Obama's transition team adds two-way communication to the change.gov website. Check it our and comment here.
(1 comments) SHARE Monday, February 10, 2020 How To Spot Skepticism Triggers
We are being played. It's not that we are stupid or gullible, at least not most of us. It's because we have not adjusted to 21st century media. We have become more vulnerable to disinformation than we have ever been because we no longer rely upon trusted journalist intermediaries. The era of Walter Cronkite's integrity is largely over
In the following paragraphs I offer some basic tools to help readers recognize the mendacity
(4 comments) SHARE Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Skepticism Triggers -- Signs of Poor or Deceptive Arguments
Senior Editor Richmond Shreve offers a collections of signs and signals that herald deceptive arguments in the media. If you surf the internet for your information, or if you watch MSNBC, Fox News, and other such news-as-entertainment sources, you will find these tools useful in thinking critically and forming your own opinions. Series: Thinker's Tool Kit (6 Articles, 12475 views)
(3 comments) SHARE Thursday, October 22, 2009 Making the Headlines
Want to see your article featured in the headlines? Want to go to the front of the line for quick publication? OEN Senior Editor Richmond Shreve reveals the secrets.
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 29, 2014 Comcast is Nudging Consumers Toward Higher Cost Services
Unless the FCC get some spine and takes control, net neutrality is dead. "[The FCC] should decide to classify broadband as a telecommunications service, which would allow it to prohibit companies like Verizon and Comcast from engaging in unjust or unreasonable discrimination. (The F.C.C. classified broadband as a lightly regulated information service during the George W. Bush administration.)," -- the NY Times.
(2 comments) SHARE Sunday, October 25, 2009 Hate Crimes Bill Passes
It took Congress 11 years, but it finally made hate crimes a Federal criminal offense.
(2 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 5, 2014 Feeding a Hungry Planet
Our food supply is in jeopardy. The next 36 years will bring global catastrophe unless we can succeed in changing the way we use the limited capacity of Earth to grow food for people. Agriculture, as now practiced, is not sustainable, nor is it sufficiently efficient to meet the needs of 9 - 10 million people (the global population in 2050. Series: Feeding a Hungry Planet (1 Articles, 1323 views)
SHARE Sunday, August 2, 2015 Decades of Climate Deception
The Union of Concerned Scientists has compiled a damning collection of evidence that shows how the fossil fuel industry duped the media and the public about the dangers of climate change. It may well be the greatest propaganda lie ever, and the most lethal.
(8 comments) SHARE Saturday, May 24, 2014 Empathy = 21st Century Enlightenment
Rob Kall has written on the psychopathic behaviors that seem to permeate our global economy and plunder the world's resources. Relatedness and empathy are the social vaccines against plunder and predatory behavior. Watch these RSA videos to see how we might foster a 21st Century Enlightenment. Series: Gaming the System (2 Articles, 2406 views)
(5 comments) SHARE Saturday, December 27, 2008 Can Indigenous Peoples Teach Us to Survive?
A grass-roots organization, mostly volunteer, offers to show us how to bring about environmental sustainability starting at home, by changing our own attitudes and behaviors.
(10 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 21, 2014 GOP: Show Me the Money!
This week we've heard various Neo-con war hawks, a veritable chorus of them, calling for Obama to take military action in Iraq. I would like to see every American have skin in the game.I propose a COMBAT TAX.I
(Read more ...)
(9 comments) SHARE Sunday, October 18, 2009 Are You an Owner or a Trespasser?
Writer Richmond Shreve explores individual private ownership, a fundamental right the western world holds sacrosanct.
(8 comments) SHARE Wednesday, June 24, 2009 News after Newspapers
With the crisis of shrinking advertising revenues and dwindling profits that is facing our major newspapers, innovative new revenue ideas are emerging that promise to reinvent journalism in the age of the internet.
(3 comments) SHARE Sunday, December 21, 2008 "I Didn't see it coming" -- Saddest Words in Business
A collection of video clips shows various pundits trying to shout down Peter Schiff, who we now know got it right. How could we have known who to listen to back then?
(11 comments) SHARE Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Follow the Risk
In the past when we tried to sort out causes and motivations, a good rule was "follow the money." But in our present circumstances it works better to follow the risk. A fundamental notion of capitalism is that profit is the reward for accepting the risk of entrepreneurship. Today's CEO is well separated from the risks of business, to the detriment of us all.
(4 comments) SHARE Thursday, June 11, 2009 Nobody has an Unrestrained Right of Self Expression
Producing and distributing any sort of media that fosters hate, violence, and pathological behavior is not a legitimate exercise of free expression.
(6 comments) SHARE Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Review: Open Source Everything Manifesto
What could or world happen if virtually everything, all intellectual property, all the stuff that's now secret or locked away in proprietary silos were universally available. In this book Robert Steel tells us that many of the challenges society faces in governance, environment, health, and virtually all areas of concern could find resolution. Were it not for Steele's rigor citing sources this might seem like Sci-fi. Not so.
(1 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 18, 2014 Gaming the System
In "Gaming the System" Shreve asserts that the US and much of the developed world has forgotten the importance of the old fashion value of stewardship - the nurturing of that which sustains us. The 2007 recession, the environmental crisis, the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor of the world are all manifestations of a lack of stewardship. Our survival may depend upon embracing stewardship as our primary social value. Series: Gaming the System (2 Articles, 2406 views)
(1 comments) SHARE Monday, June 15, 2009 Protest draws Death Threats - Will Shame Alone Deter?
Equality Now, a women's rights advocacy group, published an action email opposing distribution of the video game RapeLay that has brought angry reactions including "an unprecedented amount of hate mail, including death and bomb threats."
Should games that simulate criminal acts of violence be illegal?
(12 comments) SHARE Friday, September 18, 2009 The Marines Got it Right - Almost
The US Marine Corps changes its recruiting messages to depict the rigors of becoming a Marine challenging prospective enlistees to step up and see if they can cut it.
(11 comments) SHARE Sunday, June 8, 2014 How can I trust?
The betrayal of trust is the stuff of national headlines, the grist of theater drama, and the bane of our personal relationships. As I write this, Edward Snowden has been in the news for a year having revealed that the National Security Agency has been doing Orwellian surveillance of domestic communications in the US. Both Snowden and our government leadership have breached our trust. This essay examines authentic trust. Series: Thinker's Tool Kit (6 Articles, 12475 views)
(5 comments) SHARE Tuesday, May 8, 2012 GOP Apologists' Viral Email Campaign
Chain Emails are a useful tool for propaganda because they foreclose the prospect of rebuttal, are forwarded by a trusted source, and probably won't be scrutinized very carefully. The audience wants to believe the message, and voices of dissent won't challenge. Here is and example of such a propaganda piece designed to bolster the GOP rank and file.
(9 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 13, 2012 How's That Workin' for Ya?
Author Shreve asserts that we are story animals and that political communications play upon and manipulate that trait. To assume that logical, rational arguments will counter propaganda is a false hope. The answer may lie in examining the story that drives the major parties and decide how and if it works for you personally.
(17 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 3, 2012 Whitman Advocates for 'Americans Elect'
Americans Elect sounds like a very idealistic and populist way to put a presidential candidate on the ballot. But we should be skeptical -- it's more likely to be a spoiler and help the GOP overcome their lack of appeal to centrist voters. Divide and conquer? Stay tuned ...
(15 comments) SHARE Tuesday, June 3, 2014 "Death Spiral" States - Whispernet Viral Propaganda
Viral emails are being used by politicians and activists to influence public opinion and solidify base groups. It's an ideal propaganda technique because it usually comes from someone known to the recipient, and is therefore read as credible. Even when received by an unsympathetic reader, it may sow seeds of doubt. Because it's anonymous and not in public media there is no rebutting it or holding the source accountable.
(6 comments) SHARE Monday, October 12, 2009 Dangerous Skepticism
Ill-informed skepticism about the need for vaccination may be hazardous to your health and to the health of those you love. Series: Thinker's Tool Kit (6 Articles, 12475 views)
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Four Years. Go.
"The next four years will determine the quality of life on this planet for the next thousand."
SHARE Thursday, March 5, 2009 Advocacy for Legalizing Drugs goes Mainstream
The Economist says, "Our solution is a messy one," but argues that legalizing and taxing recreational drugs, and the attendant social and health problems, would be far cheaper and more humane than our presently ineffective and expensive efforts.
(11 comments) SHARE Monday, November 3, 2008 Test Your "BS" Meter -- Obama and Wright
In Pennsylvania the GOP is running an attack ad that seeks to smear Obama for his association with Rev. J Wright -- Is your BS meter working? Test it here.
(3 comments) SHARE Sunday, April 1, 2012 Change the "Stand Your Ground Law"
The State Attorney for Monroe County, Florida offered the following opinion concerning the "Stand Your Ground" law. It articulates some of the most reasoned and practical thinking on the controversy I've see since the news first broke. Here it is, as published in the CONCH COLOR, a Key West tabloid.
(8 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 7, 2014 Common Bound Conference - Boston
Organizers of the Common Bound Conference in Boston expected 300 people and we almost overwhelmed when 650 people representing 110 organizations registered, maxing out the accommodations (our publisher Rob Kall was among those who couldn't find a room.) The theme is "Moving Together Toward a New Economy." The core concept? Our economy is more than just money. It's about stewardship and sustainability. Series: New Economy (2 Articles, 1626 views)
SHARE Monday, August 4, 2014 Old, Wise, and Mad as Hell: Harry's Last Stand
Harry Leslie Smith is old (91), wise, and very angry. He writes powerfully and well and what he has to say about the economic and political state of the US and Britain. Harry's generation of working class Brits grew up in poverty made desperate by the depression. He sees strong parallels between what is happening in the US and GB today, and the poverty of his youth.
(4 comments) SHARE Sunday, September 21, 2014 The Right to Bear Arms? (even in a well regulated militia?)
A viral video depicts the truly awesome killing power of the Glock 18 fully automatic pistol. It also shows how difficult it is to control, and it's easy to imagine horrific "accidents" happening.
(14 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Will Obama Reform Education?
It looks like Obama's policy will be heavily influenced by professional educators-people who are affiliated with teacher's unions, and academics from schools that teach education. What's wrong with that? Nothing, provided these folks are able to break with the beliefs and traditions that are not presently producing the results we expect-the results we require to be competitive as a nation.
(3 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Honorable and Faithful Service
The honorable discharge certificate given servicemen and women when they return to civilian life says simply, "...awarded as a testimonial of Honest and Faithful Service." On Veteran's Day it behooves us all to consider what is required of our military as "Honest and Faithful" service. We honor each and every one of them for stepping forward.
(7 comments) SHARE Sunday, December 28, 2008 Obama's Health-Care Community Discussions
Will these grass-roots meetings organized by the Obama transition team make a difference in the eventual legislation? ... and how?
SHARE Friday, June 6, 2014 Obama Plays Rope-a-Dope?
Did Rachel Maddow deliver the sucker punch in an Obama rope-a-dope strategy? You decide.
(1 comments) SHARE Monday, March 29, 2010 Net Neutrality - a 'Marxist Utopia"?
"Glenn Beck recently stood at his chalkboard to warn Fox News viewers of a sinister plot to shut down free speech. A 'gang of communists' had infiltrated Washington, he raged. Their goal: to pass Net Neutrality and turn the Internet into a 'Marxist utopia.'" -- Timothy Karr
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, December 23, 2008 Just a Little Good Tea
Sometimes it doesn't take very much to make a Merry Christmas.
(6 comments) SHARE Wednesday, June 11, 2014 Tribulations of Trolls and Goats
In children's stories a troll is a fearful, loathsome, and darkly dangerous creature that lurks in the shadows and eats hapless kids who come within reach as they go about their business. In the blog-o-sphere of the adult world a troll is a darkly dangerous writer who lurks in discussion threads. Most commonly they are believers in an extreme point of view doing battle for their cause.
(4 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 16, 2011 How About a Combat Surtax?
A combat payroll tax combined with compulsory service would bring home the sacrifices and costs of war in defense of our nation's vital interests.
(2 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 30, 2011 Help 'em get what "Occupy" is about
Grassroots protests don't fit into the thinking of many "successful people" who are unconsciously members of the 99%. What would you say to awaken them?
(1 comments) SHARE Sunday, December 21, 2008 "Sweetheart, give me rewrite."
Citizen journalists face tough competition for reader attention. We have to be good to communicate.
SHARE Tuesday, September 15, 2009 What is "The Army Experience?"
The Army Experience Center, the target of anti-war activists, does not have a secret agenda -- it unabashedly seeks to present the Army as an attractive career to young people. Its creators hope to make the Army's attractions accessible to the public.
But when does good marketing cross over into unethical promotion. Are children appropriate visitors? Should there be full disclosure of the risks? See for yourself.
(1 comments) SHARE Sunday, June 8, 2014 Day 2: Common Bound Conference
This is admittedly a teaser which gives only a flavor of what has been happening at the Common Bound conference in Boston, but many OEN readers will resonate with the ideas embodied in these quotes. You can find out more about the groups and the presenters by checking out the program for the event. Enjoy. Series: New Economy (2 Articles, 1626 views)
SHARE Sunday, June 7, 2009 The Tower [Fiction]
The author's big mouth, and bigger ego, send him climbing heavenward -- in more ways than he expects. [fiction]
SHARE Wednesday, November 16, 2011 Can't Occupy? Then do a "Walk About"
Occupy sympathizers organize a "walk about" to bypass town's constraints restricting assembly in public spaces.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 12, 2008 It's Up to US
How the new tools of democracy make it possible, even necessary, for us to rescue ourselves from the threats that face America.
SHARE Wednesday, May 18, 2011 Birther Commemorative (Teaparty?) Mug
Displaying a great sense of humor, the Obama campaign is selling coffee (or maybe tea-party) mugs featuring the POTUS birth certificate.
(7 comments) SHARE Friday, November 7, 2008 Take Heed My Progressive Friends
Conservative editors of the Wall Street Journal warn of exploiting control of the executive and congress.
(1 comments) SHARE Thursday, July 5, 2012 A citizen's view of July 4th
Business Woman and social entrepreneur Marguerite Chandler writes about rebuilding the American Dream - a meditation for Independence Day 2012.
SHARE Saturday, January 3, 2009 Obama's Health-Care Community Discussions – Update 2
Obama's transition team confirms that grass-roots input will form "a central pillar" of major health-care reform. Here is a report of one of the meetings posted by a transition team writer.
(2 comments) SHARE Tuesday, May 3, 2011 Witness (On Life and Love)
The "golden years" bring their own perspective on life love and the importance of having a witness to one's journey.
(2 comments) SHARE Wednesday, December 10, 2008 Let's Fight for Freedom
A "patriotic" story circulating on the internet teaches important lessons. It is a caricature of the unexamined paradoxes in some American's sense of self-righteousness.
(7 comments) SHARE Monday, December 8, 2008 Attacking Terrorism
Terrorism expert Richard Clarke illustrate how we need to attack terrorists to prevail against them.
SHARE Sunday, October 11, 2009 Verizon -- Too Big to Serve
When enterprises grow large they too often grow impersonal and unresponsive, much like government agencies. But competition can and does punish the enterprise that neglects customer service. Verizon faces just this situation.
(7 comments) SHARE Monday, December 1, 2008 News, Opinion, or Advocacy?
There are boundaries between straight reporting and opinion for good reason. Too often, especially on the internet, they disappear.
(2 comments) SHARE Thursday, November 27, 2008 A Reason for Thanks...
As the Bush era ends, and we embark on a new and more hopeful direction for national affairs, despite the looming economic crisis, we have much for which to be thankful.
(1 comments) SHARE Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Follow the Money
About taxes, spending, debt and what's possible.
(1 comments) SHARE Monday, October 27, 2008 Look at the Base
Time to look beyond the political personalities at their organizations and the base of their power to achieve the change they promise.