Category Archives: history

Chris Hayes, heroes, and ‘Catch 22’

Posted on May 31, 2012 by oddmanout215

Erik Kain at Mother Jones, defending MSNBC host Chris Hayes who, on Memorial Day weekend, was bombarded with insults after criticizing those who overuse the word “hero”: In transforming our soldiers or police automatically into “heroes” we ignore the atrocities … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, history, Iraq war, mainstream media | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

A lie is a lie is a lie is a lie

Posted on May 6, 2012 by oddmanout215

Everybody knows if you are too careful you are so occupied in being careful that you are sure to stumble over something. ― Gertrude Stein How many of you English majors knew that Gertrude Stein took the side of Frenchmen … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, history, liar, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bill Clinton’s disastrous assumption

Posted on May 2, 2012 by oddmanout215

Somebody at Truthdig was pondering the gulf between rich and poor in America and, not coincidentally, thought of the 1996 State of the Union address, in which Bill Clinton “kneecapped Franklin Delano Roosevelt” by declaring that the era of big … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, history, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Why we’re still in Afghanistan

Posted on May 2, 2012 by oddmanout215

Misleading headline. I’ve no idea why the American military presence in Afghanistan is, in fact, three times as large as it was before Barack Obama took office. Does Obama know? If he does, he’s keeping it to himself. He’s saying … Continue reading →

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

Zizek on OWS: Where to next?

Posted on April 26, 2012 by oddmanout215

Bill O’Reilly recently denounced liberal economist Robert Reich as a communist, and Reich responded to this absurd charge by challenging O’Reilly to debate him. The debate I’d like to see, which will never take place, would be between O’Reilly and … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, history, humor, movies, Occupy Wall Street, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The dog days of spring

Posted on April 16, 2012 by oddmanout215

It feels almost like August in April, and so what if glaciers are melting and the sea level rising and scientists predicting vast coastal areas will be underwater within a century? Jon’s Water Ice, which is usually shuttered until after … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, economic collapse, fiction, history, Iraq war | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Survival of the foulest

Posted on April 4, 2012 by oddmanout215

Barack Obama, quoted in yesterday’s New York Times: Disguised as deficit reduction plans, [the Paul Ryan budget] is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. It is thinly veiled social Darwinism. And by gutting the very … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, Great Recession, history, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Scalia — joker with a mean streak

Posted on March 30, 2012 by oddmanout215

Paul Krugman wrote a good column yesterday about Antonin Scalia, the U.S. Supreme Court’s chief buffoon, but a reader’s response to the column was even better: When Justice Scalia compared requiring health insurance to requiring people to buy broccoli, something … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Depression, Great Recession, history | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

‘Will Ye Go Lassie Go’

Posted on March 17, 2012 by oddmanout215

It’s a good day to listen to “Will Ye Go Lassie Go” by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was also recorded by Joan Baez, and by the Byrds, as “Wild Mountain Thyme,” and has been sung for hundreds of years. … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, history, pop music | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

CNN reports government conspiracy!

Posted on March 14, 2012 by oddmanout215

Did you hear about this thing called the military-industrial complex, a deep-seated alliance between the U.S. government and American corporations that makes sure we are almost always involved in wars, declared or undeclared? Dwight Eisenhower identified it in 1961, and … Continue reading →

Posted in history, humor, Iraq war, mainstream media | Tagged , , | 2 Comments