Before I came out, my mother, bless her soul, was a hardened homophobe. Back in the 70s she gave large contributions to Anita Bryant’s campaign in Miami and other anti-gay causes. I vividly recall dinner at a Christmas family gathering when she pounded her fist on the table. “Gays!! They actually think they have rights!” she protested loudly. She was at the other table so … Continue reading The Closet is No Refuge
Most of you reading this know of Nikki Haley’s answer at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire where she failed to mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War, and then seemed perplexed when pressed on the point. If you missed it: She’s taken a lot of heat, with good cause. I suggested on Facebook that she needs to take one of those … Continue reading The Part Nikki Haley Got Right in Her Civil War Gaffe
Fortified with coffee and breakfast yesterday morning, David and I moved to our Christmas tree to open gifts. I was feeling a bit unsettled as David had many more packages for me than I did for him. It’s not a contest, but still some equivalence is nice. Instead of alternating turns opening gifts, David suggested I start first and open all of mine at once. … Continue reading The Gift of Laughter
For various reasons, some covered elsewhere in this blog, I no longer consider myself a “Marxist.” I do, however, still subscribe to many of its tenets and believe that Marxism for the most part provides the fullest and most accurate explanation of human society and relationships. Perhaps nowhere is this more urgent at the moment than in explaining the current conflict in Israel and Gaza. … Continue reading Israel, its Founding and Nature, & the Fight Against Antisemitism
Starting tonight, each new post on my WordPress blog — Just Sayin’ Now — will be published as well on Mastodon, a social media alternative to Twitter/X and Threads. Mastodon looks and works just like those other platforms but has a significant difference: It’s a free, decentralized “federation” of independent platforms that no single person or company owns or controls. There’s no Elon Musk or … Continue reading Just Sayin’ Now to Simulcast on Mastodon
The death and suffering of war in the Middle East and Ukraine; devastating earthquakes like Turkey’s 7.8 in February; whole communities leveled by tornados; ravaging floods in Greece, Libya and here in the United States; droughts and famine like in the Horn of Africa; wildfires across the U.S., Canada and Europe; poverty and homelessness right here in our backyards; rising hatred and violence against Jews, … Continue reading Feeling Grateful on this Thanksgiving Day
A few weeks ago I republished articles from the Militant newspaper concerning the October 7th attack by Hamas terrorists against Israel — and by extension against Jewish people everywhere in the world. I want to also republish this latest article in particular because it calls attention back to Ukraine. The war in Ukraine mustn’t be overshadowed by events in the Middle East. Both are of vital importance. As I … Continue reading Israel and Ukraine Are Both Vital Concerns
Donald Trump pledged to “drain the swamp” when he took office in 2017. Steve Bannon went further, calling for “deconstruction of the administrative state” itself with aims to “destroy all of today’s establishment.” Trump, Bannon and their followers believe that American society is controlled by the “Deep State,” an evil conspiratorial cabal. A vast army of conspirators embedded throughout the federal bureaucracy and judiciary is … Continue reading The Mythical Land of Deep State
Preface Followers of this blog probably know that I effectively broke with the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) after almost 50 years supporting it and working with it. I took this action over disagreement on a few specific issues. These disagreements are strong and heartfelt, but narrow. I still broadly agree with the SWP on many others. With respect to international politics, I consider the … Continue reading Hamas. Israel. It’s Complicated.
