Category Archives: Nativism

Labor organizers have (lots of) work to do

Posted on September 14, 2026 by oddmanout215

Last week on Labor Day I found a column I wrote in 2011, on the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. It’s what editors call an evergreen column, meaning it will always be topical. Plutocrats are still fighting … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, Congress, history, humor, mainstream media, Nativism, plutocracy, Politics, sports, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The irony of anti-immigration efforts

Posted on September 7, 2026 by oddmanout215

“Remember when ICE locked up that guy from Guinea who lived in Philly legally for twenty years, just because they could? There are a million stories like his.” I was telling my crusty neighbor Swamp Rabbit that the history of … Continue reading →

Posted in globalization, humor, immigration, mainstream media, Nativism, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Immigrants vs. the new Know Nothings

Posted on August 1, 2026 by oddmanout215

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 →

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

Court OKs sanitized slavery exhibit in Philly

Posted on June 22, 2026 by oddmanout215

Irony is a bitch. Last week, just in time for Juneteenth, an appeals court reversed a previous judge’s decision and ruled that Trump and his minions can replace the exhibit panels at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia. This means … Continue reading →

Posted in history, humor, mainstream media, Nativism, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bernie was right. (Wake up, Dems!)

Posted on November 11, 2024 by oddmanout215

My neighbor Swamp Rabbit took a moment to read the quote-out on my laptop, from an interview with PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novelist Joseph O’Neill: My sense is that, in this era of the Internet, there are millions more fascists in this … Continue reading →

Posted in history, humor, mainstream media, Nativism, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Carlson defenestrated? No, just fired.

Posted on April 26, 2023 by oddmanout215

“There’s that word again,” I said, pointing to the Michelle Goldberg column on my laptop screen: The Los Angeles Times reported that Carlson was defenestrated by Rupert Murdoch himself… “Does defenestrated mean fired?” said Swamp Rabbit, who was reading over my shoulder. … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, mainstream media, Nativism | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘The Troubles’ in N. Ireland pale in comparison to ours

Posted on April 18, 2021 by oddmanout215

I was reading about the possible renewal of “the Troubles” that wracked the north of Ireland in the last three decades of the 20th century: The instability has been accelerated by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. From … Continue reading →

Posted in gun nuts, history, mainstream media, movies, Nativism, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

South Dakota lawmaker channels ‘founding fathers’

Posted on March 24, 2021 by oddmanout215

“Check this out,” Swamp Rabbit said. It was the sort of message you might see from a grumpy old white guy at a run-down barroom in, let’s say, South Dakota: “Wait a minute,“ I said. “This guy is really a … Continue reading →

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Would you like more curfew with your lockdown?

Posted on June 2, 2020 by oddmanout215

NBCPHILADELPHIA I was jawing with Swamp Rabbit when my phone started making those strange emergency alert noises. “Only essential personnel allowed outside,” the text read. WTF? We figured a tornado was coming, or maybe a nuclear attack. In fact, the … Continue reading →

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At times, history rhymes

Posted on June 2, 2020 by oddmanout215

“When and if fascism comes to America it will not be labeled ‘made in Germany’; it will not be marked with a swastika; it will not even be called fascism; it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism.’” Halford E. Luccock, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, humor, mainstream media, Nativism | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments