In his autobiographical book, Born A Crime, Trevor Noah cleverly points out the asinine aspects of apartheid and racism. It is a real eye-opener. The reader has to ask the question, “Why was this so crazy?” Yes, there is an explanation. The history is there. But behind the history is
A U. S. Senator from California is claimed to have said, “The first casualty when war comes is truth.” No, it wasn’t Senator Dianne Feinstein; it is attributed to Hiram W. Johnson in 1917. This was upon the U. S. entry into World War I. Before World War I, the
Damn those Russians! Don’t they understand that messing in other countries’ elections is our intellectual property! Don’t they appreciate that we supported and funded Boris N. Yeltsin, their first President, after the breakup of the old Soviet Union in 1991? What makes them think they can mess around and support
Are you tired of the hassle with co-pays and deductibles? Are you sick with “in network provider” or “out of network provider?” Do you have to keep taking painkillers, while waiting for your insurance company to approve the surgery your doctor says you need? Ever wonder why people in other
It was a warm, sunny, Florida day on a Saturday morning, [February 25, 2017,] in downtown St. Pete. Nevertheless, several hundred people chose to meet with their Congressman, Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg), in front of his office. Unlike his Republican counterparts, Charlie walked among the crowd, chatting with the people,
Many of my good friends voted for Donald J. Trump. They really did not like Hillary Clinton and saw her as the Establishment candidate, the “Sage Canaday” [mountain-ultra-trail runner] of the rich and powerful, who have exploited them. The fact that the GOP Establishment didn’t like Trump made him and
By all accounts there were approximately 500,000 people, mostly women–but about 20% men–at the Women’s March on Washington, on Saturday, January 21, 2017. The National Park Service no longer gives estimates, but one can get a fair idea by the number of bus parking permits for RFK Stadium, given out
In ancient times virginity was prized because virgins were sure to be free of sexually transmitted diseases. In Jesus’s time, girls were married at around age 13. Girls received what little education they got from their mothers. They were expected to bear children, care for children, do household chores and
Today, Saturday, December 3, 2016, is Fidel Castro’s funeral. On six occasions, our C.I.A. attempted to assassinate him. Our Government has a long history of overthrowing governments it doesn’t like, especially in Central and South America. Fidel Castro and his Communist Government survived, in spite of our Government arming and
I guess I should start out by defining this term “democracy,” which is thrown around a lot and much abused. As a young man, I left the shelter of a Franciscan seminary and joined the Korean conflict in order to fight Communism and make the world safe for democracy. After
Editor’s note: The first Presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, on Monday, September 26, 2016, delivered the largest-ever TV audience for a Presidential debate. Viewership for the ad-supported broadcast and cable networks, as well as PBS, reached 84 million, according to Nielsen numbers. That figure reflects the average total number
Tuesday, September 13, 2016, was the day to stand with the Dakota Sioux in protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. Rev. Jorge Montes of Clinton, IA, sent out a last minute e-mail, announcing that he would lead the protest on the dike near the Showboat Theatre, from 5:00 p.m. to midnight.
You know it is election season when you hear the same stupid slogans over and over again, to the point you are about to barf! Presidential candidate Donald Trump touts, “Make America Great Again!” as if we know exactly what that means! Does that translate to more tax breaks for
A cursory review of U. S. foreign policy will reveal one stupid disaster after another! Donald Trump and his wall at the Mexican border sounds stupid, is stupid. But [it is] probably not as disastrous as [President Lyndon] Johnson’s escalation of the war in Vietnam or [President Richard] Nixon’s bombing
Let me count the ways. Most obviously, the Department of Justice seeks to charge her for some violation of the law regarding her e-mails. That’s too easy. Anyway, the matter is out of her hands. Maybe she’ll embellish a story like being under fire while landing in Bosnia. That was