Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas delivers a coded message about slavery. Published on Saturday, August 8,2020 by Common Dreams (link to article ) Remember the good old days? That’s when neo-Confederates (who of course never called themselves that; they were just defending their “heritage”) passionately argued that the American Civil War was emphatically not about…
“Reopen the Economy”: the Republicans’ Nero Decree
GOP policies aren’t “mistaken.” They’re a conscious waste of lives for deceitful purposes. Published on Saturday, May 09,2020 by Common Dreams link to article The New York Times’ columnist Paul Krugman is one of the few fixtures of the major prestige media honest enough to forthrightly explain why there should be no “controversy” (a…
Another Republican “Grassroots” Movement Hijacks the Media
Protests against COVID-19 restrictions, like the Tea Party protests, are corporate fronts. Published on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 by Common Dreams link to article The Republican Party and its right-wing allies are incapable of governing. They have no policy principles other than a knee-jerk rejection of the policies of the opposing party; indeed, of…
The GOP Has Become a Death Cult
American conservatism—the so-called “culture of life”—worships annihilation. Published on Friday, April 17, 2020 byCommon Dreams Link to article A decade ago, in my first public writing since leaving Capitol Hill, I warned that the Republican Party, in its evolution towards an extremist conservative movement allied with extremist Christian fundamentalism, was becoming like “one of the intensely…
How a Yale Academic Trolls the Liberals on Trump’s Looming Reelection
Walter Russell Mead writes Trump campaign propaganda disguised as analysis. Published on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 by Common Dreams (link to article) A recent piece in The Wall Street Journal by Walter Russell Meade has caused a bit of a stir among the chattering classes. Headlined “The Coronavirus May Make Trump Stronger,” it argues that President Trump’s abysmal and…
Are Mass Plane Travel and Mass Tourism Unsustainable?
The coronavirus pandemic is just a symptom of systemic problems the industries cannot resolve. Published by commondreams March 26, 2020 ( link to article) “Ah, for the days when flying was a gentleman’s pursuit! – before every Joe Sweatsock could wedge himself behind a lunch tray and ‘jet off’ to Raleigh-Durham.” —Robert (“Sideshow Bob”) Terwillinger,…
How Authoritarianism Short-Circuits the Lizard Brain
The GOP’s slavish groveling overrides – for once – its basic instinct for fear and panic. Published in CommonDreams March 14, 2020 ( link to article) The tendency of Republicans both to respond to and sow fear and panic has been with us for decades. Yet during the coronavirus pandemic, to anyone who bothers to…