The Attack on Ukraine
Vladimir Putin, an authoritarian dictator who has turned Russia into a kleptocracy, is in the process of destroying democratic Ukraine for no purpose but to fuel his megalomania, his fanatical desire to reclaim the Soviet Empire at any cost. He wants to install a pro-Russian puppet government in Ukraine, no matter how many people he […]
Ya Think?!
Ahmaud Arbery’s convicted killers (Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan) were tried in federal court this past week to determine whether the murder was motivated by Arbery’s race and color—if it was a hate-crime. Ya think?! Was there ever any doubt they were motivated by racist hatred? Could there be a more flagrant […]
Freedom Convoys
Even as a strong advocate of the First Amendment, meaning free speech and the right to peaceful assembly, it’s hard not to be concerned about the “Freedom Convoys” of Canadian “truckers” that have been massing at U.S./Canadian border crossings. They’ve already had a destructive impact on both countries, disrupting trade and further damaging supply chains […]
Madison Cawthorn (Father Like Son)
Even among the “worst of the worst” MAGA Republicans in congress, Representative Madison Cawthorn (R, NC) can always be counted on to hold his own. Last week Cawthorn made a speech on the House floor criticizing President Biden’s deployment of troops to Eastern Europe, referring to the President as an “inept, geriatric despot,” and accusing […]
Authoritarianism, Oligarchs, and Kleptocracy
It’s apparent that a great many among the right-wing media have a soft spot in their heart for authoritarian governments and the oligarchs who rule them. Last year we were treated to Tucker Carlson’s embarrassing admiration of Hungary and its authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orban. Now Tucker is showing surprising support for Russian prime minister […]
The Election Police
Trump and the rest of his MAGA Republican cohort just keep on keeping on, telling their “base” what they want to hear, again and again. And Trump’s “big lie”—that the 2020 election was stolen from him—is still at the top of the list. As we all know, however, the falsehood that elections are being stolen […]
It’s Inequality, Stupid!
In case we needed any more evidence that economic inequality is tearing our country apart, take note of the growing number of thefts from cargo trains, mostly packages being shipped by Amazon and other on-line retailers. The thieves take the merchandise and leave the shredded boxes strewn across the tracks as if a tornado hit. […]
Trump’s REAL Enablers
Former President Trump has his visible allies and enablers—the likes of Mark Meadows, Steve Bannon, and Sean Hannity—but he also has his REAL enablers, the unseen doners to the Republican Party we rarely hear about. I’m not talking about all the suckers who continue to send Trump money because they believe the “Big Lie.” I’m […]
2021 Comes to an End
Even from the perspective of someone who’s been hovering about this earth for almost 200 years, 2021 was an awfully disturbing and sad year, and it’s good to see it end. Here are some of the year’s events—many of them ongoing, growing threats—that resonated most with your humble spirit. MAGA Racism and the January 6 […]
A Metaphor for Our Country
It was painful to watch Kim Potter, the police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright, on the witness stand, crying damn near hysterically, claiming it was an accident, demonstrating her sorrow. It’s hard not to feel sympathy, but she had no explanation for why she did it, how an officer with 26 years of […]
Santa, Please Bring Ammo
With Christmas nearly upon us, I just can’t get Representative Thomas Massie’s delightful Christmas card out of my head. Who could forget the joyous holiday scene, the happy, widely grinning, gun-toting family—including his bright-eyed teenage kids, all clutching their high-powered weapons—coming just a day after the terrible school shooting at Oxford Highschool in which four […]
Ron DeSantis Wants an Army
You’ve probably heard that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to create his own militia that would be controlled by . . . guess who, the governor. In other words, one of the worst right-wing MAGA governors in the country is proposing he have his own private army at his disposal. The governor wants to call […]
Black Man Running
I concur with those who say the verdict in the Ahmaud Arbery trial represented “accountability” rather than “justice.” Accountability is perhaps the best remedy a civilized society can devise under the circumstances, the unbearable injustice of an innocent young person’s life taken for no reason other than the color of their skin—he was a “Black […]
Kevin McCarthy’s “Magic Minute”
Last week the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, tied up the House floor for over eight hours, bombastically grandstanding to delay passage of the Democrat’s bill aimed at increasing our country’s social safety net and combatting climate change. Not only was it history’s longest “magic minute,” the House equivalent of the Senate filibuster, it was […]
Return to Barbarism
I don’t know why someone who’s been hanging about this earth as long as I have is still shocked by atrocious human behavior, but Representative Paul Gosar’s (R, AZ) violent anime video, in which he relishes killing his congressional colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, NY) and swings a sword at President Biden, is way over the […]
White Vigilantes’ Victims
Ahmaud Arbery’s killers—not representing a major news outlet or being an officer of the court, I’ll dispense with terms like “defendant” and “accused”—are being tried by a jury with 11 whites and only one Black in a county that’s 25% African American. Maybe it’s not the notorious “all-white jury” of yesteryear, but something’s still wrong […]
Time to Serve the Sausage!
This time I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will finally happen, but . . . I fear the Democrats’ failure to pass the president’s agenda, the “Build Back Better Act,” in anything resembling its original form has turned into a marathon demonstration of government’s inability to solve people’s problems. I’m sorry if I’m repeating […]
Schoolboard Hysteria
I’m not sure which came first, parents protesting mask and vaccine mandates or parents protesting Critical Race Theory, but once apolitical, nonpartisan local schoolboards are suddenly partisan and the issues causing all the ruckus are no longer local. Schoolboards have become one more example of a country that’s gone from “all politics are local” to […]
The Democrat’s Maginot Line
My frustration and anxiety about America’s future in the face of the Republican assault on (what remains of) our democracy continues to rise. Too many people, and I’m referring especially to President Biden and the Democratic leadership in Congress, seem determined to hide their heads in the sand rather than confront the threat head on. […]
Inequality Is Destroying Our Democracy
Your humble spirit has been contemplating his words from last week and wondering if perhaps I should have said a good deal more about our democracy’s plight. I don’t apologize for joining the chorus of those sounding the alarm that our democracy is under siege, but the sad truth is that our democracy was in […]