by Kim Mooney What’s the first thing we do at the end of the year? We make resolutions for the new year about things we intend to do better, like an extreme makeover. It’s a nice tradition but ….. here comes the killjoy… if we really really want to love our lives, this works a little bit against us. We’ve just got so many calendar dates that we schedule our gratitude … [Read more...] about Rethinking the New Year
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
I find it ironic that nobody in the Republican Party appears to remember their own St. Reagan’s exhortation to the USSR in 1987, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”, referring to the Berlin Wall that separated East and West Berlin. That wall was a symbol of a decayed and dying ideology that had strangled the Soviets for decades, immiserating its citizens by shutting them off … [Read more...] about THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
A Texas border sheriff who supports Trump 100%…
...doesn't want the wall. He also is concerned about illegal immigration. An interesting perspective. … [Read more...] about A Texas border sheriff who supports Trump 100%…
Federal workers begin to feel pain of shutdown as 800,000 lose their paychecks
Families are feeling the pinch of the government shutdown. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University President Donald Trump wants US$5.7 billion to fund a border wall to keep out undocumented immigrants and “criminals.” Democrats in Congress say the wall is a waste of money that wouldn’t solve any of America’s actual immigration … [Read more...] about Federal workers begin to feel pain of shutdown as 800,000 lose their paychecks
Call Me an ‘Honorary Enemy of the People’
With only one course in journalism and even with a lot of help from a dog-eared 2007 “Associated Press Stylebook,” I hardly qualify as a journalist. Fortunately, because of the freedom of the press expression we enjoy in our country, I have been privileged to be able to freely express my thoughts and opinions here and in many other media outlets. Perhaps I owe whatever … [Read more...] about Call Me an ‘Honorary Enemy of the People’
‘On the Basis of Sex’ Portrays Ruth Bader Ginsburg Coming Into Her Own
There is a rather exclusive group of people who have left an indelible mark on the history and progress of the United States in our more than two centuries as a nation. From Presidents to legislators, firebrand populists to methodical administrators, activists, and generals, many of the same names come to mind. One of those names, however, has become so synonymous with American … [Read more...] about ‘On the Basis of Sex’ Portrays Ruth Bader Ginsburg Coming Into Her Own
NY Times Bombshell: FBI Opened Probe Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working for Russia
The New York Times has a bombshell of a report. According to the Times, after Donald Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director law enforcement officials began an investigation into whether was in fact a Russian asset -- someone working for the interests of Russia's Vladimir Putin. In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law … [Read more...] about NY Times Bombshell: FBI Opened Probe Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working for Russia
The Gay Say (a shrinking space for many a voice)
Recently Kevin Hart is in the news with some old comments and jokes about the Gay community and his standing down from hosting the Oscars. He has apologized and wants to move forward but without being an ally of the LGBTQ community. I for one am comfortable with that position and believe that he should be hosting the Oscars after all. Seemingly as a society, we are fast … [Read more...] about The Gay Say (a shrinking space for many a voice)
Trump and Lindsey Graham (Cartoon)
The Saudi engine of repression rumbles on
by David Ignatius Washington Post Writers Group Columnist WASHINGTON -- One hundred days after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pressing ahead with anti-dissident campaigns and remains in regular contact with Saud al-Qahtani, the media adviser whom the CIA believes helped organize Khashoggi's killing, according to U.S. and Saudi … [Read more...] about The Saudi engine of repression rumbles on
It’s 2016 All Over Again
Future Ex-President Trump got soundly thumped for his speech from the Oval Office. He said nothing new, looked as if he were embalmed and couldn’t wait to get off the air. Yet, when it was over, I had this disquieting feeling, like I had not really heard him at all; as if it passed right through me. The Democratic leadership followed him up, chiding him for his … [Read more...] about It’s 2016 All Over Again
UN study highlights new chemical-laden brine disaster
Factories that turn salty sea water into drinkable fresh water discharge enough chemical-laden leftover brine in one year to cover Florida under a foot of brine! This is one of the surprising facts highlighted by a new United Nations-backed study of the scramble in the Middle East, North Africa and other places, including the US, to use the earth’s vast oceans to quench the … [Read more...] about UN study highlights new chemical-laden brine disaster
Trump Relates (Cartoon and Column)
There are so many ways Donald Trump can relate to furloughed federal workers unable to pay their bills because of his shutdown. For example; none of them were able to spend New Years Eve and day at Mar-a-Lago. Why, Trump was forced to spend it in the cold, drab White House. He probably didn’t even have those plastic little thingies that look like tiny champagne bottles with a … [Read more...] about Trump Relates (Cartoon and Column)
The science of the deal: A negotiation expert explains how Trump and the Democrats could both end the shutdown with a win
Parker Ellen, Northeastern University Donald Trump and congressional Democrats are stuck in a negotiation stalemate that is preventing an end to the government shutdown. Trump wants a wall, but Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer refuse to support funding for a physical barrier – positions they recently reiterated while addressing the nation in primetime. … [Read more...] about The science of the deal: A negotiation expert explains how Trump and the Democrats could both end the shutdown with a win
If President Hillary Clinton Had Stormed Out of a Meeting…
True news: Donald Trump storms out of a White House meeting after he doesn't get what he wants (billions of dollars for a fake crisis), and tells off congressional Democratic leaders by tweeting, "bye bye." His cultists duly applaud. Alternative news: President Hillary Clinton storms out of a White House meeting after she doesn't get what she wants... What do we imagine the … [Read more...] about If President Hillary Clinton Had Stormed Out of a Meeting…
After Trump’s dud, it’s up to the Senate GOP
WASHINGTON -- President Trump's "big, beautiful wall" was never a serious policy proposal. It was a symbol to reassure his supporters that he would keep the sorts of people they don't like out of the country. It was also a memory device designed by his advisers to remind Trump to talk about immigration in every 2016 campaign speech. But since Trump has absolutely no interest … [Read more...] about After Trump’s dud, it’s up to the Senate GOP
Tropical Disruption: Gabon
To use a cliche: details are sketchy right now - as always in these fluid, chaotic situations surrounding power grabs, but it seems that in Libreville, capital of the Republic of Gabon in central West Central Africa, five soldiers attempted a coup d'etat. On Monday night they took control of the radio station broadcasting their demands and taking advantage of the absence of the … [Read more...] about Tropical Disruption: Gabon
Prime Time Liar (Cartoon and Column)
Last night, Donald Trump made news with a prime time address from the prestigious setting of the Oval Office. I mean, it was news if you’re a Trump sycophant who believes a 72-year-old racist, sniffy, bloviating Cheeto-skinned fear monger repeating the same arguments from the past three years off a teleprompter with the reading level of a third grader is news. In 2014, the … [Read more...] about Prime Time Liar (Cartoon and Column)
Venezuelans want President Maduro out, but most would oppose foreign military intervention to remove him
David Smilde, Tulane University Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, who has led his country into one of the world’s worst economic crises, will be sworn in for a new six-year term on Jan. 10. It will be a lonely inauguration. Some 40 countries – including the United States, Brazil, Colombia and the entire European Union – refuse to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s … [Read more...] about Venezuelans want President Maduro out, but most would oppose foreign military intervention to remove him
Why Trump will likely lose the government shutdown
President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House. AP Photo/Alex Brandon John A. Tures, Lagrange College One of the biggest myths about government shutdowns is that presidents usually win. This may explain why President Donald Trump threatened to continue the shutdown for months, even years. However, a poll conducted in the first week of … [Read more...] about Why Trump will likely lose the government shutdown