Real Question: can you recall via living experience or historical knowledge, a President so incapable of doing, or even knowing the basic functions of his job? This isn’t even a Partisan question. Here’s part II: If your party has a President that is shame f_cking both the pillars of your party’s alleged ideals, as well …
At what point do you feel like people are going to just anonymously start destroying self driving cars? You know, peacefully, without harming humans, only corporation. Will Uber & Lyft tint the windows so protesters will not know if these vehicles are unoccupied? With the tradition of populist uprisings in the United Kingdom and France …
I’m sure that an editor or two – and possibly a few peeps – might be curious as to my thoughts on Hugh Hefner’s passing. And so, on a borrowed laptop while on vacation, here goes: One has to be of a certain age, startlingly enough, to realize the influence of Hefner’s Playboy magazine in …
You can call it White-splainin’ or Man-splainin’ or man-spreading or cheese breadin,’ but Bob Costas just freestyled from his dome some of the greatest commentary on the intersectionality of Sports, Racism, and Patriotism OF ALL TIME. PLEASE WATCH, especially my dear friends from other nations. This is a fellow Civilian I salute: Donald Trump is …
Yesterday, the NPR show Fresh Air featured the legendary spy novelist, John Le Carre. Over the course of the interview, Le Carre offered some interesting perspectives on the current investigations of the Trump campaign. If nothing else, the interview is worth a listen solely for the opportunity to hear a cultured and authoritative English voice …
[Ed. Note – The author first penned these words on August 24, 2013] It’s so mindblowingly remarkable how our American society survives by avoiding realities. The middle class, the poor… will give another dollar for a problem to go away for another week. “Mister, we don’t want any trouble.” “Here, take it, it’s all I …
One of the most glaringly stupid ideas I have encountered is the assumption that if the society collapses the ability to shoot a gun will be key to survival. It’s not. The real race will be to go after the libraries. When the light goes out the only way to turn them back on physically …
Great Politico podcast on the current catastrophe in Venezuela, which has flown under the radar a bit with all of the other international noise going on. You know things are bad when, as a journalist, you get picked up by the secret police and regard the situation with relief. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/07/democracy-die-venezuela-implosion-hannah-dreier-215467 – Chuck Strom
The Colin Kaepernick story is one of the most fascinating stories of our generation. Most people didn’t even realize he was part African American until the media promoted his heartwarming adoption story, which explained why his parents were not Sicilian or Latin. Once he switched out his dooshy baseball flat brimmed cap and grew his …
This interview speaks for itself, other than to confirm that, yes, this is Donald Trump’s communications director. http://www.newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizza/anthony-scaramucci-called-me-to-unload-about-white-house-leakers-reince-priebus-and-steve-bannon – Vino Knight-Trane
President Trump unveiled his budget in May. As a candidate, Mr. Trump promised to protect entitlement programs, claiming he has a “big heart.” Guess what? Trump’s budget is irresponsible and unethical by putting the most vulnerable at risk of significant health and financial problems for the benefit of putting more money into the pockets of …
49 years ago today, we lost Bobby Kennedy. In my forthcoming book, I discuss that the Yippies were considering not protesting at the Chicago Convention if Kennedy was the presidential candidate – just days before he was shot, he met with SDS to discuss having the anti-War protests occurring in Chicago with his blessing. Then …
Thomas Ricks followed up his Fresh Air interview with some choice words about Trump in Politico: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/05/28/general-mcmaster-step-downand-let-trump-be-trump-215199 For those unfamiliar with Ricks, he has been one of the leading writers on the American military for the last two decades. His book Fiasco is the definitive work on the Iraq War, and his influence is such …
Tom Ricks was on Fresh Air this week. (The podcast may be heard below.) I’ve always enjoyed his interviews, but this portion of it, when the subject of Fox News came up, made me sit up and take notice: GROSS: You must be wondering what’s going to happen at Fox News now, especially after the …
James Fallows of The Atlantic linked HST’s Nixon obituary in his post on Friday following the Comey dismissal: He Was a Crook: Hunter S. Thompson on Nixon – The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com He Was a Crook. A scathing obituary of Richard Nixon, originally published in Rolling Stone on June 16, 1994. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1994/07/he-was-a-crook/308699/ I’m not sure how …
REALITY CHECK: How much you want to bet that Trump doesn’t know that we actually fought China in the first Korean War, and that they whooped our ass? It was an ass whooping that ended as a stalemate and North Korea is still here taunting us because we lost. We almost got pushed right into …
In the months prior to America’s illegal invasion into Iraq on March 20, 2003, Americans were told by 43 that the war was necessary to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Hussein was a threat to the U.S, and 43 implied that Mr. Hussein was responsible for the September 11, 2001, attack on America. Shortly …
My favorite rock vocalist is Freddie Mercury of Queen. Also in my top five are Randy Blythe of Burn the Priest/Lamb of God, Michael Akerfeldt of Opeth, pre-cape Elvis Presley, and Bon Scott from AC/DC. (James Brown “ranks” #2 if the category expands beyond rock.) Regarding the last front man, I cranked Back in Black …
There’s no one like adult conservatives (such as there are) for eviscerating Republicans as they plumb the depths of imbecility. Today’s column in The Atlantic from David Frum, a former speechwriter for Dubya, is exemplary in this regard. His analysis of the Republicans’ failure on Obamacare is instructive in a couple of ways: on the …
#45 announced his nomination for the Supreme Court earlier this week. From what I’ve heard, Neil Gorsuch is Antonin Scalia 2.0. If confirmed, Gorsuch will be the youngest (49) Court Justice, seven years younger than Justice Elena Kagan. On November 13, 2016, I went to my local library to hear The Fat Babies, a jazz …
I’ve been thinking about lyrics to a song or an album that fits the current state of the nation with its new president. Like other politicians, Donald Trump made some bold pledges and promises on the campaign trail. He promised the return of manufacturing jobs to “Make America Great Again.” He wanted to tear up …
On Saturday January 21 people from all over the world marched in solidarity with marchers in Washington D.C. The march was to protest the newly sworn in 45th president of the United States and his statements about and behavior toward women. It’s been no secret that Donald Trump says he divorced his first wife because …
On Friday January 20, the United States got its first fascist president. (Miriam Webster defines fascism as a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition) …
Written and Produced by Maggie Gottlieb and Julie Pearson and featuring (amongst other talented performers) Kyle Glenn Johnson, a longtime friend of East Portland Blog, this is the latest from Cursed Champagne Productions: Comedy with teeth…
Last Sunday, writers and activists gathered at Writers Resist, an event held in over 100 venues in cities across the nation to commiserate and find ways to respond to the unthinkable turn of events from last November 8. In Portland, about 600 people came to the Aladdin Theater to see Cheryl Strayed and other local …
Hundreds Gather In Seattle’s Freezing Temperatures to Protest Dakota Access Pipeline, by Holly Homan
On a chilly Sunday evening I ventured downtown to join a protest in front of Seattle’s Federal Building. The event this time was to draw attention to the plight of the water protectors fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline. For those of you unaware, this particular pipeline is slated to be built right through Sioux …
There have been two surreal moments that stand apart from my average life. First, while a senior at North Park College (Chicago, IL) I was a passenger in a car with my brother, Paul Johnson, Lowell Berggren (the driver), and his girlfriend, Sharon Greenwood. We were driving to Minneapolis in a snowstorm after dusk the …
The Center for Defense Information (CDI) was founded in 1971 by a group of retired military officers to analyze military matters, inform decision-makers and the public, and influence policy. CDI had three primary goals: 1) avert a nuclear war with the Soviet Union; 2) end the Vietnam War; and, 3) monitor the military-industrial complex. CDI …
Barron’s (Barrons.com) is a weekly newspaper devoted solely to stocks and the financial markets. My Dad passes along old issues to me. The October 17th edition contains a four page article that is based on responses Barron’s received from its “Big Money” poll about the 2017 financial market outlook and upcoming election. The article does …
I twice voted for Barack Obama for President of the United States of America. Now that he has less than six months left in his job as President, and since I have been rightly critical of his predecessor (and Obama’s successor will likely be worse than Obama), I feel compelled to present some of his …