Don Rose Intro by b. traven This is what contributor, Don Rose, a retired Chicago political consultant has to say about the convoluted reasoning behind the selection of Merrick Garland as Obama’s nominee for the Supreme court. Other theories abound… such as this one in Salon. Senate Democrats have rushed to claim that this conservative Republican…
Peter Van Buren Intro by b. traven: In the army we used to say someone was “Whistling in Dixie” when they were oblivious to the truth. When Obama in one of his high flying rhetorical promises in his run for the presidency promised “transparency” in government it appears he was “whistling in Dixie.” Under his…
b. traven In 1959, retired Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning biography of naval commander, John Paul Jones. Jones was probably the most provocative, shrewd, and aggressive Revolutionary War commander, helping secure the independence of our country from Great Britain. Although born in rural Scotland, Jones was apprenticed at age 13…
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…
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.…
W.J. Astore At Northeastern University in Massachusetts, members of campus security are now routinely carrying military assault rifles in their vehicles. The rationale is that you never know when and where terrorists will strike, so you have to be prepared to outgun them at all times. Many Americans equate guns with safety — and bigness…
Peter Van Buren. Introduction by b. traven. After decades of politicians enacting repressive and vindictive imprisonment policies like “three strikes” and maximum incarceration for minor drug usage, America has become a nation that proclaims its love of freedom while imprisoning more of its people than many of the most freedom-hating regimes in the world. Peter…
Nick Turse. Courtesy of TomDispatch.com. [Editor’s Note: In his recent address to the nation, President Obama expressed his belief in the U.S. as an exceptional nation. Inherent to that belief is the idea the U.S. is a shining city on a hill, a moral exemplar to the world, a beacon of freedom, a nation whose…
The Contrary Perspective 