The Narrow Lot on Fremont Street A Note about Today’s Gunfight and Your Health I was born in 1957 in the dozy days of Eisenhower, in the very month that kicked off the International Geophysical Year —sing along, “…what a beautiful world it will be, what glorious time to be free”—and, of course, the...
Continue readingThe Two-Step Truth and Treachery
One of the advantages of being raised on the streets of Jersey and gotten beat up in front of a bowling alley for no reason at all. Really, it happened. Really, no reason at all. I can see it coming and I know a con when I hear one. This one’s a two-step. First...
Continue readingA Tale of Two Countries, Another Week of Worlds Apart
I don’t know how many of you could bear to watch the Comey hearings. They are even more disturbing than what’s going on with Gorsuch. With Gorsuch you’ve the feeling of being utterly ripped off. The ONLY question for this normanrockwell knockoff white guy doing his best to pretend he has a heart is,...
Continue readingAn Open Letter to Conservative Arthur C. Brooks who Wishes the Resistance Would “Just Let It Go.”
I’m taking this personally. I share a surname with both self-alleged “moderate” David Brooks of The NY Times and Arthur C. Brooks, who turns up on its pages on the weekends and spends most of his time pretending to be an intellectual. This having to disclaim relationship caused by the sheer accidents of surname...
Continue readingAmerica’s Heroic Fallacy, Winning Isn’t Everything, It’s the Only Thing
American identity is in truth complex, rich, and defies reduction. But when did that ever stop us? Let’s look for our monothetic marker, that one thing we share across our political, economic, and nationalist identity. How’s this one? We think we’re great, even if we’re not willing to say exceptional. We not only tell...
Continue readingDismantling America, The View From the Slow Lane Or Why the Dog Chases the Car
American conservative ideology has got a certain rabid appeal, I mean it goes right after base emotions and ideas. To respond requires we get out of the passing lane and take the traffic seriously. Speeding by we say to ourselves that people should be responsible to take care of themselves. Why should the working...
Continue readingThe Priority of Profit, Wealthcare in a Nutshell
An Exercise in Two Americas, It’s a Values DifferencePrioritizing Profits I care about wealth, and we all need some. As fortunate as I have been to have a steady job, my arithmetic skills are sufficient to realize that my personal retirement plan is called “working unto death.” We make our choices, I’ve made mine....
Continue readingUnderstanding Wealthcare, A Foundation of Republican Social and Economic Policy
Understanding WealthcareA Foundation of Republican Social Values and Economic Policy#wealthcare You gotta know who you are dealing with. So here’s a primer that explains how Republicans, like Paul Ryan and the rest, think about the purpose of government. Wealthcare is their interpretation of the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, it is how we “form...
Continue readingThe Invisible Hand and Your Rights to Healthcare
Understanding Ryan and Tea Party Healthcare How does any adult in the 21st century believe that the radical conservative Tea Party view of health care is an option? My focus here is on Republicans today who object even to Ryan’s plan. Their view is simple: no government involvement is ever warranted, allow market forces...
Continue readingDisconnected, Deregulated, and Unhinged: The 44%, the President*, and the Profiteers:
America would be in free fall were the Resistance not the floor.The sum of the polls puts the President’s* popularity at about 44%. These are historic lows but we also know what the polls told us about the elections. (See 538.) What can we count on these days? First, the bright news is the...
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