September 2012

The New York Times has been a staple of my daily news consumption for well over a decade.  During this period, the “Gray Lady” has printed a very high percentage of the comments I’ve submitted, however they have consistently censored my comments addressing the organization’s journalistic failures. The following is the latest example of this tendency of the Times, regarding… Read More »TWICE CENSORED: Catching the NYT in a fib and defending Israel at HuffingtonPost

And now we turn to a conversation between “American Joe” and “Middle Eastern Mo” exploring the question of “Muslim rage…” JOE: Hey Mo, what is it with you people? Why so hypersensitive? MO: Be riiiight with you, Joe; just helping my neighbor bury his wife and children… JOE: Honor killing? MO: Drone, actually… JOE: No shit! Well let me look… Read More »Exploring the Rage of the Hypersensitive 1.5 Billion

After basically eschewing the HuffingtonPost “Comments” section for over a month (that time-sucking rabbit hole of bumptiousness and braggadocio), I’ve recently allowed myself to dive back into that moshy pit, engaging in discussions ranging in tone from mutually admiring to openly combative (I confess that, when provoked, my HP self can be a bit of an acerbic dick — but… Read More »The HuffPo Sampler: USPS and Public Education under Attack, Syria Analysis, Muslim Rage and Democratic Values, the 2012 Election

I have respect for both Michael Eric Dyson and Glen Ford, who were recently on Amy Goodman’s excellent broadcast to discuss the Obama presidency.  Their debate raises many of the more salient points I tried to raise in my recent series on identity politics and the Obama era.  In any case, I hope my readers will find it interesting…

The following is the entire statement — condemned by Governor Romney and disavowed by the Obama administration — that was released by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo responding to the furor over an American-made hate film targeting Muslims, several hours before the protests that would breach their walls (contrary to Mr. Romney’s bizarrely repeated claims).  Please note that the values… Read More »THE VALUES OUR LEADERS REPUDIATE and THE VALUES OUR POLICIES BELIE

I. Rush Limbaugh’s candor — If you read my recent response to Clint Eastwood’s speech at the RNC, you might agree that Rush Limbaugh’s recent comment about the upcoming presidential election basically provides smoking-gun evidence that my thesis is correct: There is NO principle whatsoever behind establishment conservative opposition to President Obama.  Here’s Limbaugh, describing his feelings about Republican nominee Mitt… Read More »ODDS & ENDS: Rush Limbaugh’s candor, TWO autocratic conventions, and Muslim “hypersensitivity”

Introduction: A post-9/11 conversation I once had… In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on America, I found myself debating a conservative young friend I’d made when I was a graduate student in Iowa.  He was surprised to learn that I was not among the roughly 90% of Americans, including himself, who approved of Bush’s response to al Qaeda’s… Read More »A Striking Lack of Empathy, Part IV: Stop Enabling the Recidivist Sandusky Neocons or Don the Miter of Shame!

I just watched RNC “mystery guest,” Clint Eastwood, deliver his curious speech, and wow…  It’s a bit of a stunner.  It’s not the maundering old man speech that some of the more glib headlines insinuated — something I had no interest in seeing, incidentally (I have about as much interest in ridiculing Clint Eastwood’s age as I do in mocking… Read More »GO AHEAD, MAKE MY CONVENTION… A WINDOW INTO THE GOP’s SOUL