Don Rose. Introduction by b. traven. Chicago may be this country’s “Second City” but it may also be a microcosm of the three card monte our politicians play with our national debt. In this article Don Rose, our political strategist of Chicago, dissects how Chicago pols keep escalating the city’s debt, even as they pass…
W.J. Astore Two news items this morning caught my eye. The first involves Edward Snowden, the security contractor who revealed massive (and ongoing) spying by the National Security Agency (NSA), much of it illegal. Snowden says he will consider returning to the United States if he is given a fair trial (he is currently in…
P. J. Sullivan There is a wireless revolution going on. From “smart” phones to “smart” grids to Wi-Fi to unmanned drones to driverless cars, everything seems to be going wireless, with little or no consideration of the consequences to human health. There are red flags linking wireless radiation to serious disorders: leukemia, brain tumors, heart arrhythmias,…
W.J. Astore I read old stuff. Heck, I’m a historian: that’s what I’m supposed to do. So I was reading an old pamphlet on “The Indiana World War Memorial” (circa 1940) and came across the Pledge of Allegiance as it was recited before McCarthyism reared its ugly head in the 1950s: I pledge allegiance to…
W.J. Astore Why, looky here, another article in the New York Times that examines the Republican “hawks” posturing for a presidential run in 2016. As the article blurb states, “Republicans are scrambling to outmuscle one another on national security issues.” It’s all about looking tough and calling for more boots on the ground in…
Henry Pelifian The Hollywood Western is truly an American creation that epitomized the hardship to maintain and restore justice. The inequality, greed and corruption were rampant in the Westerns of Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Tim Holt, Randolph Scott, Gary Cooper and Joel McCrea. There are singular Westerns from actors who did not specialize in the Western genre…
W.J. Astore Like so many bloated Hollywood movies nowadays, America’s wars may bomb, but they always produce their own sequels. Look at the latest news from Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars have persisted for more than a decade, with several re-releases to include “surges” and repeats. The latest from Iraq is preparations to retake the…
W.J. Astore A strong trend in higher education today is to sell education as workforce development. I saw this at the college where I used to teach, which was unsurprising given that the college started as a technical institute in a conservative area. My college proudly advertised itself as valuing partnerships with business and industry,…
Originally posted on The Contrary Perspective:
My Dad in the Army in 1945 W.J. Astore In December 2010, I wrote the article below for Truthout. Even as the economy was sputtering and jobs were scarce, Congress was seeking to cut unemployment benefits. Eventually, a compromise was forged to maintain the benefits; the price was more…
W.J. Astore Privatization of war is making it far easier for America’s imperial state to wage endless war throughout the world. Consider the case of Afghanistan. The U.S. military is allegedly leaving that country, turning the fight over to the Afghan military, trained and equipped largely by America. But the truth is different: the U.S.…
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