Politics

  • The Ten Things on My Mind

    My recent stroke has compelled me to reevaluate my life and goals. Here are the ten issues I am most focused on. 10. Keeping My Sanity Have you ever been hit by a torrent of water from a fire hose?… Continue reading

    The Ten Things on My Mind
  • Breaking Eggs

    There are many ways to break an egg. You can break an egg by cracking it on a flat surface like a countertop or the edge of a bowl, tapping two eggs together, or using a specialized egg-cracking tool. Each… Continue reading

    Breaking Eggs
  • The Last Days of Fear and Anxiety

    This essay was originally published on October 11, 2024, one month before the election that returned Donald J. Trump to power. Thanks, America. “The moment we no longer have a free press, anything can happen. What makes it possible for… Continue reading

    The Last Days of Fear and Anxiety
  • The Trumpism Virus

    In her article “The Great Mortality,” writer Elisa Gabbert wrote about the plagues that are coming for us, even when we pretend we don’t want them. Ironically, the article was published less than two years before COVID-19. Gabbert wrote that… Continue reading

    The Trumpism Virus
  • Those Illegals

    We don’t care.There is no empathy left in us.No sympathy.No care in the universe.We know who they are.Where they came fromacross an oceanEnglandPortugalSpainFranceItalyGermanySo many lands We have enough pain in our worldwe cannotwill notassume the debt of their painWe refused… Continue reading

    Those Illegals
  • Me, American

    The scenes are as fresh in my mind as if they had happened today. The second-grade nun told my parents to speak to me only in English. This is America, and in America, we only speak English. Or Mrs. Travieso… Continue reading

    Me, American
  • America, My Country Too

    I was born in the United States of America and grew up here. The South Bronx, to be exact. From an early age, I was taught that this nation was the greatest in the world. No doubts about it.In Catholic… Continue reading

    America, My Country Too
  • America is Broken

    Video evidence is everywhere. Facebook. X. Especially X. Instagram. TikTok. I’ve even seen evidence on Truth Social, a Trumpian fountain of irreconcilable conflict between reality and fantasy. You know things are horrible when the liars are lying about lying.The videos… Continue reading

    America is Broken
  • Instructions For Making and Using an Ax Handle

    An Ax Handle, also called a haft, has five parts: the Eye, the Shoulder, the Belly, the Throat, and the Knob. ALL we wanted was to be served lunchat the whites-only lunch counterInside a F.W. Woolworthfive-and-dime store In Jacksonville, Florida,… Continue reading

    Instructions For Making and Using an Ax Handle
  • The Cult of Hate

    “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.“—Sinclair Lewis It is a faint memory, but it’s there. At some point in my childhood, I was taught to beware of Russian people, because… Continue reading

    The Cult of Hate