Legends of the Fall:The Liberal Longing for a Lost Normality
This week, liberal activist Amy Siskin tweeted this message of yearning nostalgia for the good old days before the Orange Ogre befouled the sacred temple of the Oval Office: “I miss our country. I miss normal and days of non-crisis. I will be so grateful when we take our country back, every single day. Future […]
Least Resistance: No Liberal Outrage at New Regime Change Op
The US has passed another historic week focused on some of the most burning issues of our time, complex and contentious matters that have rightfully provoked many hours of nuanced analysis and intellectual discussion throughout every form of news media: print, video and digital. We refer, of course, to those twin peaks of public concern, […]
A Liberal’s Confession
I’m ashamed, but I’ll go ahead and admit it: For years, I thought Rupert Murdoch was the single worst poisoner of our political system. I thought the Civil Rights movement was a remarkable manifestation of the human spirit. But now, thanks to our sensible Democratic centrists, I know how wrong I was. Over the course […]
Ruined Choir: Remnants in the Universal Thrum
Remnant I was dreaming of her offering of the perfume on her wrist the sweetness and the nearness of her skin just like a kiss The pang as it’s withdrawn and disappears into the mist the yearning and the burning to be more, much more than this The love that outlasts love’s withering away The […]
Opioids and Ashes: An American Ending
(My latest column for CounterPunch Magazine.) Her spinal column was fusing. Arthritis was clutching at her joints, balking every movement, filling it with pain. Her insides were a wreck, and had been for 40 years, after an unnecessary hysterectomy in the days when that operation was ordered for every mild form of “women’s troubles.” Pain filled […]
Blood Sport: The Radical Extremism of the Transatlantic Elite
From the Guardian: “Jeremy Hunt [UK Health Secretary] accused of ‘astonishing failure’ after GP numbers fall by 1,190.” This is indeed alarming — but the headline isn’t true. Jeremy Hunt is not “failing” in any way. He is succeeding very well at his true job: destroying the NHS so it can finally be sold off […]
Gallantly I Come to Roy Moore’s Rescue
Good old godly Roy Moore now has a page on his website where you can contact him and tell him if you’ve been approached by the evil media trying to dig up dirt on him. This follows news that Alabamians have been receiving robocalls from someone claiming to be “Bernie Bernstein of the Washington Post” […]
Don Draper Rules: Russian Ads and American Madness
So we’ve finally seen some of the social media ads which we are told skewed the entire election in 2016 and constituted a key part of the internet assault on America launched by Vladimir Putin’s “troll army.” Scary stuff, blazoned across front pages and screen scrolls everywhere. But before going on, perhaps we should find […]
No Exit: A Grim Vision of the Post-Trump Future
From Vanity Fair: “I HATE EVERYONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE!”: TRUMP SEETHES AS ADVISERS FEAR THE PRESIDENT IS “UNRAVELING” The best solution for Trump personally would be to resign now (citing ‘deep state, fake news’ persecution). He would immediately be hired by NBC (yes, the one he’s threatening now) in a revival of “The Apprentice.” He […]
Dylan’s Alembic: Against the Zeitgeist of Violence and Bluster
(This is my column from the latest edition of CounterPunch Magazine.) As the title of this column suggests, I’m an admirer of Bob Dylan’s work, from the world-shaking epics to the off-the-wall obscurities. But I admit that even I quailed this March when I heard he was about to release yet another collection of classic crooner covers […]