Stephanie Wilkinson owns a small restaurant in Lexington, Virginia. She was summoned to the Red Hen from home last Friday night after getting a call from the chef. The staff thought that Sara Huckabee Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, had just sat down with four or five other people. They didn’t know what to do. Wilkinson drove over. When Wilkinson walked in, she … [Read more...] about Standoff at the Red Hen
Great Music Chapter 21
This week we return to the field of Classical music. This time with a Russian composer who was a contemporary of Rachmaninoff and in fact they both had the same piano teacher. This week’s composer is Alexander Scriabin. Born in 1872, his mother was as Concert pianist, who unfortunately died when Scriabin was just an infant. He was raised by his grandmother but obviously … [Read more...] about Great Music Chapter 21
The cruelty extends beyond immigrant kids
WASHINGTON -- President Trump has a special animus toward immigrants, but the children of those crossing our borders are not the only vulnerable people in his sights. His administration is waging a less visible war on our nation's poorest citizens, with the complicity of its Republican allies in Congress. We can welcome the fact that the president's family-separation policy … [Read more...] about The cruelty extends beyond immigrant kids
Why our brains see the world as ‘us’ versus ‘them’
What are your in-groups and out-groups? ksenia_bravo/Shutterstock.com Leslie Henderson, Dartmouth College Anti-immigrant policies, race-related demonstrations, Title IX disputes, affirmative action court cases, same-sex marriage litigation. These issues are continually in the headlines. But even thoughtful articles on these subjects seem always to … [Read more...] about Why our brains see the world as ‘us’ versus ‘them’
Message on first lady’s jacket should be motto of Trump campaign
Embed from Getty Images WASHINGTON -- In the 1992 campaign, President George H.W. Bush created an unofficial and much-mocked motto for his administration during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. "Message: I care," he announced, as if reading aloud the stage directions. Melania Trump did much the same last week when she went to Texas to see some of the migrant kids … [Read more...] about Message on first lady’s jacket should be motto of Trump campaign
Nationalism and piety dominate Turkey’s election
Under a canopy of Turkish flags, supporters of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) attend an election rally in Gaziantep, eastern Turkey. Presidency Press Service via AP, Pool Resat Kasaba, University of Washington Turkey goes to the polls to vote for president and parliament on Sunday. As a scholar … [Read more...] about Nationalism and piety dominate Turkey’s election
Cartoon: No Nothing Trump
False Dichotomies of Democrats
It would be nice if Democrats wouldn't promote false dichotomies, but plenty of them do. False Dichotomy #1: "Either you believe that climate change is 100% man-made or you believe that it is a hoax." Actually, climate change is neither. As climate history shows, the climate has been changing for as long as there has been a climate, and humans have been dealing with … [Read more...] about False Dichotomies of Democrats
Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: GOP Pro-life
- OF RELATED INTEREST: --George Will: Vote against the GOP this November --GOP stops congressman from playing screams of children Trump jailed --Republicans Are Willing to Take Children Hostage in More Ways Than One 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. … [Read more...] about Mike Peters Guest Cartoon: GOP Pro-life
Trump says trade wars are ‘easy.’ Here come the first American casualties.
WASHINGTON -- President Trump believes that "trade wars are good, and easy to win." So he started one. Now the casualties are beginning to return home from the battlefield, and on Capitol Hill Wednesday, the people's representatives presented some of them to Wilbur Ross, the president's billionaire commerce secretary. "Corn, wheat, beef and pork are all suffering market … [Read more...] about Trump says trade wars are ‘easy.’ Here come the first American casualties.
Cartoon: American Dream
Making art ‘should be uncomfortable’ – a conversation with visual artist Lorna Simpson
Visual artist Lorna Simpson speaks at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts Medal Gala in May 2018. Paul Rutherford/Tufts University, CC BY Christina Sharpe, Tufts University Lorna Simpson, a pioneering visual and conceptual artist whose striking work on race, gender and identity has placed her among the leading artists of her generation, was … [Read more...] about Making art ‘should be uncomfortable’ – a conversation with visual artist Lorna Simpson
Trump’s Mean Boy Nation
Never forget that the president's gang may be incompetent at a spectacular level but they're cruel and nasty to the bone by Michael Winship Our “I alone can fix it” president has gotten us in another fix, all right. Of course, whenever he screws up big time, Mister I Alone starts blaming everyone but Mister I Alone. He had admitted as much the other day when he … [Read more...] about Trump’s Mean Boy Nation
“They don’t want you to know” – Conspiracy Theories
by David Anderson Consider these propositions: climate change is a hoax, vaccines are dangerous and the Deep State is not only a thing, but hobbling Trump’s efforts to make America great again. Big conspiracies almost never exist. Small scale ones do, broadly defined at law as two or more people (together) doing an act or thing in furtherance of crime. Actually, one can … [Read more...] about “They don’t want you to know” – Conspiracy Theories
Correction to ‘The End to An Unnecessary, Un-American Tragedy at Our Southern Border’
On Wednesday Trump signed his disingenuous executive order (dishonestly titled, “Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation”) in a scornful attempt to apply a band aid to the gaping wound to our national character he himself inflicted. In a “final update” to this shameful, sorry episode in American politics, I naively changed the title of the piece to … [Read more...] about Correction to ‘The End to An Unnecessary, Un-American Tragedy at Our Southern Border’
Cannabis Nation — Vapor for Vipers
As a relic of the 1960s, I take more than a passing interest in the progression of marijuana in the lives of Americans. Thus, a wedding trip to Colorado starts with a visit to the local dispensary. It turns out that some of my fellow relic attendees began their sojourn with a stop at a Mary Jane shop. Even though a few bought for medicinal purposes, marijuana is big business … [Read more...] about Cannabis Nation — Vapor for Vipers
Preventing crimes against humanity in the US
Immigrant rights advocates speak against Trump’s policies in New Mexico. AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File Nadia Rubaii, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Max Pensky, Binghamton University, State University of New York There are those who say that comparing President Donald Trump’s rhetoric to that of Adolf Hitler is alarmist, … [Read more...] about Preventing crimes against humanity in the US
Shame on Melania and Donald
It’s time for a new approach to travel
As Mark Twain once said, ‘Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.’ Jake Simonds-Malamud, CC BY-SA Randy Malamud, Georgia State University When I overcame a flying phobia, I resolved to make up for lost time by visiting as much of the world as I could. So in the course of a decade, I logged over 300,000 miles, flying … [Read more...] about It’s time for a new approach to travel
The Daily Show Video: Fox News Versus North Korean TV
WOW. It does looks like it's run by the same management, doesn't it? The Daily Show: … [Read more...] about The Daily Show Video: Fox News Versus North Korean TV