Stuart Lyle The hit Broadway show ’Hamilton’ has enjoyed a meteoric rise. Less than a year ago, it opened off-Broadway, but quickly found traction and was on Broadway by midsummer. Now shows are sold out well into later this year. Few would have predicted that a show about founding father Alexander Hamilton would strike such a deep chord with a…
Peter Van Buren This post originally appeared on January 21, 2016 in Peter Van Buren’s blog. In an Op-Ed printed in the Washington Post, former General David Petraeus says it is time to “unleash our airpower in support of our Afghan partners in the same way that we support our Iraqi and Syrian partners against…
David and Jeanne Heidler If you’re looking for strange juxtapositions, you had a whopper this weekend. On January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. In case you’re a bit fuzzy on the amendment numbers, that was the one prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage…
Jacek Popiel Americans live in a perpetual now, and the now of 2016 is looking decidedly grim. A quick summary of our current situation: U.S. finances are shaky, with an exploding national debt, two economic crises since the year 2000, and the next one possibly around the corner. The once superb U.S. economic machine has…
b. traven Editor’s Note: In September 2015, a powerful photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian refugee who washed up dead on a Turkish beach, put a human face on the terrible tragedy of constant warfare in the Middle East. Aylan Kurdi was an innocent; so too was his older brother and mother. They all…
b. traven, Greg Laxer, and Mike Murry Editor’s note: We wanted to share with our readers an off-line conversation some of our regulars had regarding protest songs and the Vietnam War. Back then, songs really meant something. We encourage you to write about your own favorite protest songs in the “comments” section below. Thanks. b.…
U.S. Cops Have Already Killed More People since Christmas than UK Cops Have Killed in Five Years Peter Van Buren I love my readers, and want you all to have a safe 2016. So here’s some advice, assuming you don’t want to be murdered by your police: move to the UK. Or China. Or Australia.…
Don Rose. Introduction by b. traven. Don Rose, TCP’s insider on Chicago politics has written a biting assessment of how corrupt politics dominated by an Obama-endorsed mayor, Rahm Emanuel, is perpetuating police misconduct. Emanuel, abetted by a compliant city council, has refused to hold the Chicago police force accountable for its discriminatory use of deadly…
Daniel N. White Been buying lots of books recently from Half-Price Books’ dollar bin. A fair percentage of them are new books that were publisher’s returns at some time in their life, books that were marketed but never sold. Good percentage of these are books originally from the UK. Books judging from their blurbs that…
Walter Stewart Ruck-up America and grab your carbines and kevlars, it’s war on. Of course, I wish it were not so, because I’ve been to war and have second place Vietnam War creds to prove it. But hey, stuff happens, any national cemetery knows that. I don’t think the current war – this one not…
The Contrary Perspective 