Let’s be honest about America’s wars and the men (overwhelmingly) and women who have fought them. Most of the wars that the US has launched or fought in, dating back to at least the War of 1812, were not just or necessary, could have been avoided, and wasted precious lives and national wealth, often while …
Social Security in the Crosshairs
(A joint publication project of ThisCantBeHappening! and Tarbell.org Could President Donald Trump destroy Social Security, the New Deal retirement program that for 85 years has provided critical support to old or disabled Americans — currently numbering 65 million? At first blush, the idea that a president could singlehandedly destroy a program that was founded …
Older Voters, especially Republicans, Need to Think Before They Vote
In 2016, exit polls show that Donald Trump won the over-50 vote by a big margin. With voters over the age of 50 accounting for 45% of voters that year, Trump, according to a study by AARP was the choice of 55% of that demographic, compared to 44% who voted for Hillary Clinton. Trump’s …
Continue reading “Older Voters, especially Republicans, Need to Think Before They Vote”
Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!
One of the most shocking things I learned talking with a Los Angeles Police Officer I became friends with while working as a reporter on my first job in L.A. was that LAPD cops were trained to “empty your revolver” whenever you fired at a person. It’s not like in Hollywood cop movies, where …
When It Comes to the Truth of Opinion Columns, It’s ‘Reader Beware’
It is quite normal for newspapers to run columns in their editorial pages written by people who don’t share the same editorial perspective of the publication’s editors. It’s why they call them “op-ed pages”—for “opposite the editorial page.” But normally, there is at least the assumption, among professional journalists and readers alike, that the opinion pieces …
Continue reading “When It Comes to the Truth of Opinion Columns, It’s ‘Reader Beware’”
Trump and Crony Postmaster’s Attack on the USPS Threatens Nation’s Rural Residents, not just the Election
In these pandemic days most of us are used to the daily visits from trucks belonging to Amazon, Fed-X and UPS, as well as Uber and Lyft drivers delivering everything from food to clothing and parts for DIY plumbing and electric repairs. With all that private delivery service activity going on, it’s easy to …
Sometimes We Need a Little Reminder from Nature
Last night, a 1.5-inch writing spider, in the short span of three hours, managed to construct a web bridging a 12-foot open span of our back porch, including a huge sticky 3′ X 2′ web net of closely parallel strands designed for catching even small flying insects. I nearly face-planted right on the middle where …
Continue reading “Sometimes We Need a Little Reminder from Nature”
Save the US Postal Service and Defend the Vote!
Fishs Eddy, 13774 –Over the last 15 or so years, I’ve had two post offices vanish from towns I live in. The first was in Maple Glen, PA, a small town we moved to when we left Hong Kong in 1997. The town center, where the post office was located, is basically a triangle …
Continue reading “Save the US Postal Service and Defend the Vote!”
Gassing Immigrants in Detention with a Highly Toxic Industrial Disinfectant
As the first and hopefully only presidential term of Donald Trump nears its November 3 moment of truth, the accusations of fascist or even Nazi tendencies and actions by him and his administration have multiplied. But this latest one I’m calling out is particularly horrific: The use of a powerful “for industrial use only” …
Continue reading “Gassing Immigrants in Detention with a Highly Toxic Industrial Disinfectant”
Alert! Social Security and Medicare are in Critical Danger
(This article is part of a joint publication between ThisCantBeHappening.net and Tarbell.org) Watch out! Uncle Donald is coming for your and all your relatives’ Social Security and your Medicare! The all-out attack on Social Security and Medicare, those two remaining standing edifices of the legacy of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon Johnson’s …
Continue reading “Alert! Social Security and Medicare are in Critical Danger”