“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength” – George Orwell, 1984 Hermann Göring, creator of Nazi Germany’s Gestapo, hosted a secret meeting at his home in Berlin on February 20, 1933. In attendance were over 20 of Germany’s top businessmen. Hitler addressed the group, all members of the German Herrenklub (Gentlemen's Club), and told them that, with their … [Read more...] about PRAVDA MEANS TRUTH
Don’t Immediately Dismiss Trump’s Republican Challenger
Pop quiz: What did Lyndon Johnson in 1968, Gerald Ford in 1976, Jimmy Carter in 1980, and George H. W. Bush in 1992 have in common? Those incumbent presidents were all seriously challenged - and seriously weakened - by insurgent candidates within their own party. LBJ was so jolted by antiwar Democrat Eugene McCarthy's strong primary showing that he decided to junk his bid … [Read more...] about Don’t Immediately Dismiss Trump’s Republican Challenger
GREAT MUSIC – CHAPTER 47
As I indicated before I wanted to use this Great Music series to introduce some contemporary composers. This week I want to highlight the music of French composer, As I indicated before I wanted to use this Great Music series to introduce some contemporary composers. This week I want to highlight the music of French composer, Yann Tiersen. He was born in 1970 in Brest, France. … [Read more...] about GREAT MUSIC – CHAPTER 47
Why the queen said yes to Boris Johnson’s request to suspend Parliament
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shakes hands with Queen Elizabeth II. Victoria Jones/Pool via AP Laura Beers, American University When Queen Elizabeth II agreed to suspend Parliament, she gave British Prime Minister Boris Johnson what he wanted. Opponents of Johnson’s move view it as a cynical and perhaps unconstitutional maneuver. Johnson, they … [Read more...] about Why the queen said yes to Boris Johnson’s request to suspend Parliament
‘My Short Little Life’ – Air Force Captain Cole Holloway
The ambition, the dream, of many boys and young men is to become a pilot, preferably a fighter pilot. This is the story of a young man who accomplished his childhood dream, who became an F-15C Eagle fighter pilot (“The coolest jet that man has ever created”) only to have to give it up a few years later because of a disease that presently has no cure or a way to halt its … [Read more...] about ‘My Short Little Life’ – Air Force Captain Cole Holloway
The Chosen One
Our beloved president, Donald Trump, has now started to call himself The Chosen One, intimating that he is the Messiah who has arrived to bring peace and good will to the planet, and salvation to those who believe in him, particularly those who are extremely affluent. Indeed, Evangelicals and Mormons steeped in their religions may perceive him as sort of a Messiah, placing … [Read more...] about The Chosen One
TRUMP BEDBUGS (Cartoon, Column and Video)
When I heard the United States is going to host the G7 Summit in 2020, the first thing I thought was, “that fucker’s gonna try to have it at one of his shitty golf clubs.” I’m sure most journalists in the country thought the same thing so I shouldn’t receive any huge plaudits for my prognostication skills. Grifters are gonna grift. That’s exactly what our Grifter-in-Chief has … [Read more...] about TRUMP BEDBUGS (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Stupid is not Ignorant
Embed from Getty Images by Jay Johnson The Amazon Rain Forest is burning out of control. Smoke from the Amazon fires is turning day to night in cities 1000 miles away. Most of the fires were set deliberately to clear pastures for cattle. The easiest way to clear a Forrest to make a pasture is to set it on fire. For the last 30 years the Amazon has lost an average of … [Read more...] about Stupid is not Ignorant
Hoping Not to Meet ‘Tanya’ This Season (UPDATES)
This stunning photo of the eye of Hurricane Dorian was taken on Sunday, September 1, from a U.S. Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft flying through the eye of Dorian. The photo was tweeted by first lieutenant Garrett Black, an Air Force Hurricane Hunter, or “aerial reconnaissance weather officer.” UPDATE II: Puerto Rico is breathing a sigh of relief as Tropical Storm … [Read more...] about Hoping Not to Meet ‘Tanya’ This Season (UPDATES)
The Amazon Rainforest on Fire, a Global Tragedy
In a nostalgic piece a little more than eight years ago, I wrote: Some of the most idyllic and memorable times of my early youth are the days and weeks I spent in the late 1940s with my parents and sister in El Oriente of my native Ecuador. I was referring to Ecuador’s magnificent jungle region on the East side of the majestic Andes Mountains, the beginning of the … [Read more...] about The Amazon Rainforest on Fire, a Global Tragedy
Trump’s Obama Envy
WASHINGTON -- Is it my imagination, or is President Trump's chronic and debilitating case of Obama Envy getting worse? One of the things that genuinely seems to matter to Trump is comparing himself -- favorably, of course -- to his predecessor, no matter how delusional the rationale. Trump gave an illustration at the end of the G-7 summit, when he insisted to reporters that … [Read more...] about Trump’s Obama Envy
Amazon fires are destructive, but they aren’t depleting Earth’s oxygen supply
Amazon fires are destructive, but they aren't depleting Earth's oxygen supply Fire consumes an area near Jaci Parana, state of Rondonia, Brazil, Aug. 24, 2019. AP Photo/Eraldo Peres Scott Denning, Colorado State University Fires in the Amazon rainforest have captured attention worldwide in recent days. Brazilian President … [Read more...] about Amazon fires are destructive, but they aren’t depleting Earth’s oxygen supply
Temple Shalom: A Love Story
by Michael Ginsberg On October 21, 1961, I finished my bar mitzvah speech at Judea Center Synagogue in Brooklyn, thanking my parents for raising me as a Jew. Six months later, I interrupted our family’s Shabbat candle lighting to announce that I was finished with religion. The next 30 years, I diligently dodged Judaism: Brooklyn to Buffalo, Louisville KY, and points … [Read more...] about Temple Shalom: A Love Story
Emperor’s Clothes (Cartoon)
Who Will be the Next Scapegoat?
Under President Bush, the primary scapegoat was homosexuals. Bush used a ban on gay marriage as a unifying cry to rally his base. In 2003, the Supreme Court defeated a Texas law banning sodomy. The law was shot down but the movement was there nonetheless. Under President Obama, the administration called for a society where you could sleep with whoever you wanted but not eat or … [Read more...] about Who Will be the Next Scapegoat?
How government can expand freedom
WASHINGTON -- Complaining about government -- its failures, its corruption and, in the worst cases, its capacity to oppress -- is both an American pastime and a right to be treasured. But a wholesome desire to preserve ourselves from foolish or tyrannical rule often devolves into disdaining government altogether. The underlying assumption (I exaggerate only a little) is that … [Read more...] about How government can expand freedom
MEDAL OF DISHONOR (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Donald Trump dishonors the military and veterans just as much as he dishonors our nation and our allies by wanting to award Vladimir Putin with a spot in the G7, the group of the world’s largest economies. If anything, there should be talk of adding South Korea, China, India, and Brazil to the group before Russia because each of those nations has larger economies than … [Read more...] about MEDAL OF DISHONOR (Cartoon, Column and Video)
Extinction Rebellion Wants a Mass Psychedelic Protest. Bad idea.
You might have heard of Extinction Rebellion ("E.R."), a splashy British climate change protest group who cause all sorts of kerfuffles like protests blocking London's streets and super-gluing their asses to the glass of the British Parliament viewers gallery. They're the Al Qaida of the climate push minus flying planes into buildings, presumably due to the environmental costs … [Read more...] about Extinction Rebellion Wants a Mass Psychedelic Protest. Bad idea.
The Amazon is burning: 4 essential reads on Brazil’s vanishing rainforest
The Amazon is burning: 4 essential reads on Brazil's vanishing rainforest Catesby Holmes, The Conversation Nearly 40,000 fires are incinerating Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, the latest outbreak in an overactive fire season that has charred 1,330 square miles of the rainforest this year. Don’t blame dry weather for the swift destruction of the world’s largest tropical … [Read more...] about The Amazon is burning: 4 essential reads on Brazil’s vanishing rainforest
Trade war shows reality of ‘America First’ in action
By GEORGE F. WILL Washiongton Post Columnist WASHINGTON -- In a trade war, as in a real one, people are wounded by friendly fire from their side. Consider some casualties in Donald Trump's "easy to win" -- his promise -- trade war. Begin with the company whose green machines bear the name of the blacksmith who, in the 1830s in Grand Detour, Illinois, invented a … [Read more...] about Trade war shows reality of ‘America First’ in action