WASHINGTON -- After two horrific mass shootings, we come together as a nation to confront an urgent question: How are we going to keep Wayne LaPierre safe? The longtime head of the National Rifle Association, it turns out, is worried sick about his personal safety in this gun culture. After the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, he and his wife bravely waited out the uproar on … [Read more...] about The real tragedy: Wayne LaPierre fears for his own safety
The forgotten history of segregated swimming pools and amusement parks
The forgotten history of segregated swimming pools and amusement parks When a group of white and African American integrationists entered a St. Augustine, Fla. segregated hotel pool in 1964, the hotel manager poured acid into it. AP Photo Victoria W. Wolcott, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York Summers … [Read more...] about The forgotten history of segregated swimming pools and amusement parks
Cartoon: Suicide Watch
A suicide watch is meant to prevent a prisoner from taking his own life, not just to observe it, right? Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was being held in the Metropolitical Correctional Center while facing federal sex trafficking charges killed himself by hanging himself Saturday morning. He was placed on suicide watch three weeks ago after he was found unresponsive in his … [Read more...] about Cartoon: Suicide Watch
Great Music – Chapter 46
A change of pace. While in last week’s chapter I promised more music from current composers, I have changed my mind for just this week considering the tragic events of this week. After being absorbed by television shows about the killings in El Paso and Dayton, I took to music as a way of dealing with grief. Even though I knew no one involved in these events, they still hit me … [Read more...] about Great Music – Chapter 46
Bombshell: Epstein found dead in jail cell in apparent suicide
And now a bombshell of a story. One that has occurred in a way and with timing that seems like something out of a movie or TV series: Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell which is leading some on twitter to suggest that rich and powerful people who may have been at risk of being exposed as having participated in his world of sexual abuse are now breathing a sigh of … [Read more...] about Bombshell: Epstein found dead in jail cell in apparent suicide
KASHMIR AND WHY IT IS RELEVANT FOR THE WORLD NOW
Kashmir a Muslim majority state, in the Himalayas is contested between India, Pakistan, and China for over 70 years now. Recently it has become a flashpoint as bordering on ethnic cleansing, India has revoked its constitutional rights and protection inherent to its Muslim identity and geography and against the UN resolutions and prior commitments. This piles on the already … [Read more...] about KASHMIR AND WHY IT IS RELEVANT FOR THE WORLD NOW
Trump grotesquely made his visits to Dayton and El Paso all about him
WASHINGTON -- It is not just his stoking of white supremacist sentiment that makes Donald Trump such a dangerously unfit president. It's also the corruption, the weakness, the ignorance, the incompetence and the stunning lack of empathy -- all of which we saw this week on grotesque display. What kind of man visits two grieving communities, shattered by horrific mass … [Read more...] about Trump grotesquely made his visits to Dayton and El Paso all about him
Five Stars to Burger King’s (Meatless) The Impossible Whopper
BRAVO Burger King and The Impossible Burger for joining forces to create meat-from-plants The Impossible Whopper. The fast-food giant today began nationally rolling out its Impossible Whopper, which had been tested in a few parts of the country. The idea is to reportedly try it out for about a month nationally and then decide whether to make it a permanent part of the menu. … [Read more...] about Five Stars to Burger King’s (Meatless) The Impossible Whopper
Celebrating Woodstock, Snoopy’s Feathered Friend
The Woodstock music festival of 1969 was not the kind of event that the late Charles M. Schulz would have attended, but that didn't stop him from naming a Peanuts character after the event. Now, the Charles M. Schulz Museum is celebrating Snoopy's feathered friend Woodstock. CBS News has the story in the below video. Featured Image by Author … [Read more...] about Celebrating Woodstock, Snoopy’s Feathered Friend
Whatever ‘happened’ to King Kong’s Carl Denham? Read this book
A couple of years ago, author and scholar Frank Dello Stritto penned the "history" of the ill-fated "wolfman." It was titled "A Werewolf Remembers: The Testament of Lawrence Stewart Talbot." It weaved Talbot's life through half a century of history, connecting him through several scores of films and film characters. It was a unique, scholarly page-turner capable of seducing … [Read more...] about Whatever ‘happened’ to King Kong’s Carl Denham? Read this book
Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Donald Trump and Guns
Of related interest: --Trump’s Reelection Strategy Makes a Gun Bill Unlikely --Trump to NRA Bigwigs: Get Better Lawyers --Trump says NRA's views will be 'fully represented' in gun reform talks.-- Mike Peters is recognized as one of our nation’s most prominent cartoon artists for his outstanding work as both a political and comic strip cartoonist. His favorite expression … [Read more...] about Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: Donald Trump and Guns
Guns, Guns, and More Guns
Americans civilians possess more guns than the entire rest of the world in total. We also have more civilian gun deaths in America than in any other nation aside from Afghanistan. Could there be some connection? President Trump blames the recent mass murders on mental illness and violent computer games. Is he claiming that more Americans are mentally ill proportionately than in … [Read more...] about Guns, Guns, and More Guns
Americans’ support for immigration is at record highs – but the government is out of sync with their views
Americans’ support for immigration is at record highs – but the government is out of sync with their views Polls show that Americans feel more welcoming toward immigrants than they have in the past. Evgenia Parajanian/Shutterstock.com Mariano Sana, Vanderbilt University Since its start, the Trump administration has … [Read more...] about Americans’ support for immigration is at record highs – but the government is out of sync with their views
What are Republicans afraid of?
By CATHERINE RAMPELL Washington Post Column It's almost funny, in a twisted sort of way. Election after election, Republicans have based their core political appeal on fear. And yet -- as dual gun massacres this weekend starkly illustrate -- they refuse to offer solutions to any of the mortal threats Americans actually face. President Trump's closing (losing) message … [Read more...] about What are Republicans afraid of?
Joe Biden: Trump ‘Has Fanned the Flames of White Supremacy’ (Updated)
Joe Gandelman on Monday published the statement made by former President Barack Obama mourning the victims and grieving with the families of the latest mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, but also powerfully condemning and rejecting the hate and fear speech that incites such violence. Today, in an even more eloquent, powerful and perhaps defining speech in Burlington, … [Read more...] about Joe Biden: Trump ‘Has Fanned the Flames of White Supremacy’ (Updated)
The Internet And Scandinavian Jazz
I've been pondering the events of the past couple of weeks and listening to different theories about what got us to where we are Somebody on the radio I was listening to made an interesting point which I think covers half the story He talked about being back in high school and there was the stereotypical kid who had completely different musical taste from everyone … [Read more...] about The Internet And Scandinavian Jazz
Toni Morrison: The Power of Language
Toni Morrison, the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature died yesterday in Bronx at the age of 88. The most celebrated of her many novels and essay collections are “Song of Solomon,” which received the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1977, and “Beloved,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. Many of her writings appeared regularly on The New … [Read more...] about Toni Morrison: The Power of Language
Blame Gaming
David Donar. All rights reserved. Copyright Donar, Political Graffiti … [Read more...] about Blame Gaming
Sensible gun reform requires taking the Senate
WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party may not have pulled the triggers, but they still bear some responsibility for the weekend's atrocities. The only way to keep military-style weapons of war out of the clutches of would-be mass killers is to take away McConnell's power -- which means electing a Democratic majority in the Senate next … [Read more...] about Sensible gun reform requires taking the Senate
Dirty White Boy (Column, Cartoon and Video)
When I was working at The Free Lance-Star in 2001, I tried to get cartoons past my editors that were against profiling Muslim-Americans after 9/11. I didn’t have a lot of success. While not officially endorsing profiling, the paper didn’t rail against it. Even then, the majority of terrorist attacks on Americans were committed by white males. When I pointed out to my editors … [Read more...] about Dirty White Boy (Column, Cartoon and Video)