Category Archives: mainstream media

Beware the pool creature’s wrath


The creature from the green lagoon invited bad publicity in June when his minions arrested a passerby named David Hearn at the Jefferson Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. This week the U.S. Department of Justice — an Orwellian name … Continue reading →

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Immigrants vs. the new Know Nothings


My ne’er-do-well neighbor Swamp Rabbit was annoyed. “Give it a rest, Odd Man. You just wrote about the disappearing immigrants last week. Get off your soapbox for a while.” We were discussing an article about the MAGA mindset on immigration. … Continue reading →

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The media could help unmask ICE agents


“They wear masks, carry guns and show no identification. They grab people off the streets and whisk them away in unmarked SUVs. They stage raids on private homes and workplaces, make arrests without warrants, shoot and kill with impunity. Who … Continue reading →

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Update: A sneaky makeover of slavery exhibit


Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. — George Orwell “No way those Park Service goons would do their dirty work in broad daylight, in front of angry protesters and puzzled tourists. No … Continue reading →

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Bastille Day was not like the 4th of July


Swamp Rabbit raised a toast to his TV screen during a news feature about Bastille Day celebrations in France. “The Frenchies are really whooping it up,” he said. “This is their version of the Fourth of July.” “Not exactly,” I … Continue reading →

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Don’t like your history? Scrub, rinse, repeat.


At high noon I rushed over to Swamp Rabbit’s shack to read aloud from an essay in the NY Review of Books by the always insightful Fintan O’Toole: National vanity is arguably dependent on the absence of national pride. To … Continue reading →

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Oops, I got my mad kings mixed up


It was too hot to exercise, so I nodded out with NPR on the radio. When I woke, the network’s hosts and reporters were reading from a list of grievances: He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for … Continue reading →

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Quit whining, it’s only 102 degrees


The sleet sounded like beaded curtains brushed aside by a fleeing intruder. I lingered in bed, tensing up every time the ice pellets danced across my windows. My favorite blanket — the one with the embroidered dinosaur images — was … Continue reading →

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Green is the new orange


NYT columnist Maureen Dowd tweaked the title of an old monster movie for a recent headline: “The creature from the green lagoon.” Could there be a more apt way to describe the shiny beast who polluted the Reflecting Pool at … Continue reading →

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Soundtrack for the solstice


The sun was directly overhead on the longest day of the year. No shadows. I pushed a button on my phone. My neighbor Swamp Rabbit leaned back in his broken rocking chair, waiting to hear some songs that would blot … Continue reading →

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