It’s time to look in the mirror, America: We chose catastrophe — there’s no one else to blame Published August 24, 2025 in Salon.com According to polling data, 62 percent of Americans favor the government being responsible for the health coverage of all people in the country. Sixty-five percent of Americans polled favored the infrastructure bill passed during Joe Biden’s…
How did we get from the ’60s to Trump’s kitsch White House?
Our culture turned on itself, stagnated and went rancid — that’s how Published August 9, 2025 Salon Quite apart from the fact that 20 years ago, almost none of our supposed thought leaders foresaw that the United States would slide into a fascist-style dictatorship by 2025, there have been surprisingly few retrospective analyses that seek to…
David Brooks faces the truth of US history — and runs away
NY Times’ pet conservative offers a lengthy apologia for America — and gets pretty much everything wrong Published July 26, 2025 9:00AM America’s so-called sane conservatives have had a lot of explaining to do since 2016, and even more since January of this year. How do they dissociate themselves from Donald Trump and still justify their own continuing belief in…
America slides into totalitarianism — and it won’t be easy to reverse
“Authoritarianism” is so 2018 — Donald Trump and his minions want to conquer all of civil society Published June 22, 2025 6:00AM Salon e’ve seen a spike over the last few years in the use of the word “authoritarianism.” This is the predictable result of the recent rise of authoritarian regimes which, to a greater or lesser…
Pete Rose, Donald Trump and the corruption of literally everything
Our president’s meddling in baseball history: Another reminder that he ruins everything he touches Published May 24, 2025 10:49AM in Salon.com On May 13, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, issued a decision reinstating Hall of Fame eligibility of 17 deceased former players, all of whom had previously been permanently banned from possible inclusion. BFD,…
Republicans Want You to Die
Don’t believe it? Just look at their record. Mike Lofgren May 13, 2025 Common Dreams Let’s suppose someone decides it would be a good idea to drive 80 miles per hour through a school zone while the amber lights are flashing. If something bad happens, as it would be likely to, and he kills one…
Goodbye to all that — once again, and for the last time
Farewell reflections from an American who has now lost his country: I quit the GOP 13 years ago. That wasn’t enough It was in 2011, amid the eruption of the Tea Party juvenile delinquents in the House of Representatives and the then-novel asininity of birtherism, that I called it quits after 28 years on Capitol Hill —…