Ron DeSantis’ infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law was initially aimed at young elementary school children whose tender ears were deemed too sensitive to be told their classmate Johnnie has two mommies or two daddies. The law covered K-3. It wasn’t long before DeSantis decided that even 12th graders are too young. From there DeSantis aimed his sights on state universities, banning diversity programs on the … Continue reading The Not-So-Slow Creep of Bigotry
An article in yesterday’s New York Times got me thinking. It described the latest round of something we see constantly these days: speakers (usually conservative) being shouted down or denied a platform altogether by (usually “progressive”) students or activists. The right does this too, though in their case it’s often more institutionalized than ad hoc. Examples include the expulsion this week of two Tennessee state representatives or … Continue reading Society Needs a Collective ‘Time Out’
The news has been consumed since 2020 with ‘The Big Lie’ where Trump & Company have been insisting the presidential election was stolen. Some 60 lawsuits have failed to present credible evidence, the Cyber Ninjas in Arizona actually found additional votes for Biden, and Sidney Powell’s source proving fraud is an “internally decapitated” woman who time travels in a semi-conscious state and talks to the … Continue reading The Other Big Lie
I became a socialist in the early ’70s before attending college. While never a member, I’ve been involved off and on in different capacities with the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) ever since — until last spring. In April I broke off my connection over political differences. This has led to a series of letters, texts and emails between myself and a close friend since … Continue reading My Liberal Turn
I’ve spent a awful lot of time watching Court TV this month with the Kyle Rittenhouse trial in Wisconsin and the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial in Georgia. I can’t immediately recall two trials of this magnitude coming back to back like this, nor situations touching simultaneously on so many social, legal and political issues — to name just a few… the Second Amendment right to … Continue reading Courting Tragedy: Reflecting on the Rittenhouse & Arbery Trials
Glasgow, Climate Change & Capitalism: A true Halloween horror. An article in today’s New York Times drives home the depth of the climate change crisis. It’s not that we can’t deal with it — yet — but there’s little chance we will be. Certainly not in time to avoid catastrophic consequences that will fall especially hard on those who are just young children today. The danger some … Continue reading Nightmare on Glasgow Street
As I see it, there are two dimensions to the climate crisis facing humanity: conquering global warming in the long term and managing its consequences in the short term. Both are critically important. Conquer Global Warming The New York Times and other media are reporting on a document released this week by the United Nations in preparation for a conference this Fall in Glasgow of … Continue reading Only the Working Class Can Defeat Climate Change
Official Statement of the Cuban GovernmentIssued September 11, 2001 During a speech delivered on September 11, 2001, Cuban President Fidel Castro read an official Cuban government statement issued in response to the terrorist attacks that day against the United States: The Government of the Republic of Cuba has learned with grief and sadness of the violent surprise attacks carried out this morning against civilian and … Continue reading Speeches by Fidel Castro Responding to 9/11
An Epilogue updating this post appears at the end. Back in college one of the organizations on campus was the Revolutionary Student Brigade (RSB), a short-lived youth group aligned the Maoist Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). Being a socialist and gay, I inquired about their position on gay rights. I can’t recall what they said exactly, but it was something along the lines that homosexuality is … Continue reading Bone of Contention: Socialists & the LGBT Community
