America, Which Is It Gonna Be?

Democratic Socialist or Democratic Fascist

Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about … the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial. – Martin Luther King In their [evangelical Christians’] view, Christ did not live a perfect life so …

Flags, Male Aggression and Pole Dancing

Freud Goes to the Super Bowl

It would be hard to find a more obnoxious display of American corporatism and imperialism than this year’s super bowl. The whooshing super-hero graphics, the flag-waving, the pre-hyped $11-million-a-minute ads and a succulent J-Lo pole-dancing at halftime. If I hadn’t decided to write about it as decadent spectacle, I’d have turned it off and read …

Democrats Need Backbone on Militarism to Win in 2020

Iran Is NOT Responsible For US Dead in Iraq

Who exactly is responsible for US casualties in Iraq during the Iraq War? The question has been raised thanks to President Trump’s decision to assassinate Iranian General Gasem Soleimani. On January 13, the New York Times published a front-page story about a lawsuit filed against Iran in federal court by US veterans and veteran families; …

Short-term Tough Guy, Long-Term International Menace

Donald Trump’s War is a Tragedy Foretold

Here we go again. We lived through George Bush Senior’s war, then George Bush Junior’s war and now we have Donald Trump’s war. Our leaders don’t learn from our mistakes very well. True, the curtain is just rising on Act Three, and the players are just now entering the stage; no one in the audience …

Metaphor, the Holy Bible and the Western Hero

Corrupting Jesus to Trump the Constitution

( for Thompson Bradley ) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. [Matthew 7:15] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. [Matthew 7:18] Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. [Matthew 22:39] Over this past …

Is Richard Jewell Too Sensitive For Dirty Harry Fans?

Clint Eastwood Trips On a Quid Pro Quo

Clint Eastwood is a great filmmaker. Unforgiven is a flawed, but still magnificent, western that deals with the tension between legend and reality. Eastwood’s latest film – Richard Jewell – is another example of tight, well-wrought filmmaking. But as good as the film is as storytelling, it emits a rotten smell. OK, it’s hardly as …

American Culture Loves a Good Killer

Killers, Gumbas and Politics Circa 2020

Donald Trump’s narcissistic, authoritarian instincts and the man’s clear admiration of Vladimir Putin’s gangster-capitalist leadership style makes me think of archetypal killers. During his campaign for president he spoke often of killing; he would anonymously refer to some of his business friends as “real killers,” which was meant as a compliment on their skills and …

Joker Kills 'em at the Box Office

Drones, Guns and Abject Heroes In America

A couple Saturdays ago I attended the monthly protest near the drone base located on what used to be the Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Horsham, PA, outside Philadelphia. The vigil has been going on monthly for a number of years, peopled by some of the most spiritual, peace-loving people I know. I’d say …

Drones and the Weapons of the Future Must Be Regulated

Donald Trump and the New, New World Order

When the going gets weird, the weird go pro. (Hunter Thompson) For weeks, I’ve been reading New York Times stories that, as a military veteran of the anti-war movement for the past 35 years, really blow my mind. For one thing, President Trump is in a domestic, political war with what he and his allies …