Category Archives: history

Tom Wolfe’s works will live on! Really!!!

Posted on May 16, 2018 by oddmanout215

After hearing Tom Wolfe had died, I thought of that scene in The Bonfire of the Vanities where master of the universe Sherman McCoy, under arrest, is paraded past reporters with Styrofoam peanuts clinging to his expensive suit. …They were … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, history, mainstream media | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Trump has nothing to lose

Posted on April 11, 2018 by oddmanout215

Reporters and White House insiders seemed to agree yesterday that Donald Trump was “losing it” I wondered what they were talking about. Did they mean his ability to put aside personal problems and focus on the welfare of others? Was … Continue reading →

Posted in history, mainstream media, plutocracy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another day, another new low for Trump

Posted on November 28, 2017 by oddmanout215

Let’s say you’re one of the Navajo veterans of WW II who used your native language to create coded messages that the Japanese military couldn’t possibly figure out. You survived battles in the South Pacific, where Japanese soldiers usually fought … Continue reading →

Posted in history, mainstream media, Nativism, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cynical coda of ‘Mad Men’ finale: Coke is the real thing

Posted on May 21, 2015 by oddmanout215

An acquaintance of mine posted this question on Facebook last week: “Does anybody else find Mad Men‘s writing to be vapid, direction glacial, acting somnambulatory, and the cultural references boring?” I asked my friend Swamp Rabbit if he’d like to respond, … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, history, humor, mainstream media | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Icelanders: ‘Gimme that old-time religion’

Posted on February 5, 2015 by oddmanout215

Many Icelanders have had their fill of the enfeebled Christian deity and are feeling the nostalgic pull of the old Norse gods: Asatruarfelagid, a neopagan organization, plans to start construction next month on the country’s first Norse temple since Christianity … Continue reading →

Posted in enviromentalism, history, humor | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

If Comcast’s CEO had sucked up to Teddy Roosevelt

Posted on January 24, 2015 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit had an interesting thought today. You’ve got to wonder, he said, how many media companies Comcast CEO Brian Roberts would have gobbled up if recent U.S. presidents hadn’t been stooges for big business. Net neutrality is only one … Continue reading →

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The provocation game in France

Posted on January 8, 2015 by oddmanout215

Juan’s Cole’s analysis of the bloody assault on the office of the satiric magazine Charlie Hebdo wasn’t as stirring as Salman Rushdie’s, but Cole got to the heart of the matter: This horrific murder was not a pious protest against … Continue reading →

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Regarding Rushdie and the limits of satire

Posted on January 8, 2015 by oddmanout215

Salman Rushdie has issued an eloquent denunciation of the fanatics who slew 12 in Paris in the name of their god: I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, history, humor, mainstream media, plutocracy, terrorism, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

MSNBC: The Russians are coming!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by oddmanout215

Robert Parry in Consortium News: If you were living in Crimea, would you prefer to remain part of Ukraine with its coup-installed government – with neo-Nazis running four ministries including the Ministry of Defense – or would you want to … Continue reading →

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Do as we say, Russia, not as we do

Posted on March 8, 2014 by oddmanout215

If I read one more time that President Obama thinks Russia’s support for a referendum on the status of Crimea “violates international law,” I’ll scream. This will mean nothing, because I live in a swamp and only my friend Swamp … Continue reading →

Posted in history, humor, Iraq war, liar, mainstream media, Obama | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment