It’s been floating around all weekend, and early this evening the Arizona ACLU announced a flyer campaign. Apparently they’re hoping for protests, if America’s protesters can fit anything else into their busy schedule. Our money’s on the whole story getting lost in the shuffle; the public has gotten pretty protest-weary — but we’ll see what happens.
On April 21st, during one of a series (more…)
There’s a slogan: A.C.A.B., or “All Cops Are Bastards”. The premise is, if you’re a good person you don’t join the side of the oppressor. You don’t don jackboots and riot gear. You don’t swing the club, and you don’t launch tear gas.
It’s a good slogan; effective, it’s viscerally appealing. It speaks to us where we live.
And yet it’s wrong. Not completely, as you’ll see, but fundamentally. (more…)
I’ve spoken with an awful lot of angry people this morning. Most are also terrified. It’s hard not to be when you wake up and look around, and all you see is ashes.
Take heart, my friends! Be of good cheer! For I tell you truly, today is a day of vast possibility, containing with it a hope for a glorious future.
No, I haven’t snapped, and I’m not drunk (more…)
Protesters are marching under a banner that reads “Black Lives Matter”. They do this because it seems pretty evident some folks disagree, judging only based on the number of peaceful arrests for what are usually non-crimes that turn into black people being dead.
It’s a slogan that begs (more…)
I want to take a moment to very strongly mention that The Not Fake News is not endorsed by The West Wing, any of the writers, production team, cast, or crew. Were Toby and Will real people, I’m certain they’d be furious at me stealing their words for this purpose.
…Then again, maybe not. (more…)
When there’s a crisis, people tend focus on the present situation and ignore the abstract, regardless of the wisdom of doing so. This is reason enough for us to do the opposite. And so I pose for consideration the following question:
Of what use are property rights to a man who has no property?
You’re going to hear this asked a lot going forward. It’s an important question, and one well-deserving of an answer, but posing it directly risks missing the point of what’s been happening in Minnesota and across the country. Because there are only two reasonable answers immediately apparent, and neither holds up to scrutiny. (more…)
Fires are raging in downtowns across the country, and I don’t know what to write. I really don’t. You shouldn’t expect reasonable conclusions and easy answers from me, not tonight.
Ever since I was old enough to understand the concept, I’ve been opposed to violence. I try to never raise my voice in an argument because the moment tempers get out of control, people stop listening. Human beings don’t accept new concepts very well even at the best of times, and the middle of an argument is a far cry from that.
What’s so very striking here is the mindless destruction, though that can be (more…)
I keep having to tell myself that: It’s not about me, I say. And then fifteen seconds later it becomes about me again. Pretty silly, isn’t it?
When I go outside wearing a mask, I can’t breathe. I get light-headed; there’s a tightness in my chest; I get dizzy. My lungs are going like a bellows in a steel mill and my heart’s like a jackhammer. It’s called a panic attack, they tell me, though like Paul Vitti I object strongly to that term. To me, it’s that I’m overheating and can’t get enough air. That will always be my private interpretation, no matter that my brain tells me otherwise. (more…)
We’re having a great debate in this country, and as per usual it’s about the wrong things.
When I say the words “great” and “debate” in this context, I’m being misleading. It’s more of a drunken argument between ignorance and stupidity somewhat reminiscent of politics and religion over post-Thanksgiving football between (more…)
I’ve been trying for months, but I’ve been unable to put it into words. Then, an unusually reasonable exchange on Twitter followed by a timely DNC campaign email crystallized the thought for me. This is what I sent back to Mr. Biden. It says what I mean, and how I feel. I wonder if it might not be close to how you feel.
I know this is (more…)
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