The Clean Water Act, Part One

I’m going to be honest:  This may never see Part Two.  There is so very much to write about that a lot of very important things will certainly fall by the wayside over the next few weeks and months, and this may be one of them.

But it was a very important happening on Tuesday, and here it is Thursday and there’s been no coverage.  The major media is letting this slide because they have the same problem I do:  Too much happens all at once, and there’s only one front page.

But this is important (more…)

Scoring A Touchdown

(Editor’s Note:  This is another in our ongoing series of guest columns on current events.  Rudyard “Duke” Milhaus of the Sports Desk is well-known for his passionate commitment to objective journalism.  Unfortunately, due to his exhausting schedule of hands-on research into America’s prisons and substance abuse problems, this is the only picture of him we can find.)

Have you ever tried to bargain with someone?  To dicker?  You know, tried to get the best deal on a car, or something else that’s flexible in price?  How you do it is, you start out with an extreme offer, then slowly work your way to a price that’s more in the middle ground, somewhere between what they want to get and what you want to pay. (more…)

Wanted: Spotters And Fire Marshals

“This isn’t the state of California, it’s a state of insanity.” – General Joseph W. Stilwell

Feb. 25, 1942.  Just before 3am, the Japanese launched an air raid on the city of Los Angeles; by the end of the encounter, five men were dead and numerous injured, 1500 rounds of antiaircraft artillery had been fired and several enemy saboteurs had been arrested and turned over to the F.B.I.

This was it.  The ‘unassailable mainland’ was finally the target of Japanese bombs and all the drilling done by the raw American volunteers would be put to the test.

Only it never happened. (more…)

The President Wants Your Opinion

There’s a survey the White House has put out in advance of the President’s scheduled first address to a joint session of Congress.  Which promises to be quite a spectacle, of course; given the present antagonistic climate in D.C., I won’t be shocked if the Democrats pull some sort of horrible stunt and if the President responds with a blistering rant.

The White House has me on their mailing list.  I’ve been there for a long time; got grandfathered in from a previous administration (more…)

Protest Fatigue And What Comes Next

For the months following the election, and again for the weeks right after the inauguration, we saw a brief surge of political involvement and activism on a scale not practiced since we got out of Vietnam.  People were angry; they were marching — and it was beautiful.

Even today there are protests, with people out in the icy cold carrying signs and chanting (more…)

Nothing To Fear

A lovely young lady of my acquaintance is going traveling, off on a great adventure.  I’ve been very excited for her, and it was with shock that I heard her talk about her fear while walking into a rural gas station.  “Surely she can’t mean it,” I thought.  “It’s a joke of some sort.”

And then she explained:  It’s a trip through the heart of Trump country, and she’s neither male nor white.  She fears violence, discrimination, and the Klan.

Again, my reaction was startlement.  Shock.  Amazed disbelief.  After all, if there’s (more…)

Sports Desk: There Is No “Fake News”

Editor’s Note:  This is another in our new series of guest columns on current events.  Once again, here’s the infamous Rudyard “Duke” Milhaus, of the Sports Desk .

Huddle up, gather round, people!

There’s a new playbook being used.  It’s not the prettiest set of plays ever to hit the field, but the Opposition started it and now everyone’s picking up on it, so we’re gonna have to learn it too.  It’s called the “Fake News Play”.
 (more…)

The Fake News Doesn’t Tell The Truth

“The Fake News doesn’t tell the truth.”
-President Donald Trump, CPAC speech, 24 Feb 2017

Once again, President Trump spoke out against the Fake News, this time at the CPAC conference at National Harbor.  To be fair, it sounded a lot more powerful when he was talking.  It sounded impressive, deeply meaningful, profound even.  And then I read the words.

Trump sounds great in person.  When you’re watching him with an open mind, he’s an incredibly powerful speaker — but he doesn’t say much.  He’s a skilled orator who uses a third-grade vocabulary to convey simple ideas and make them seem powerful.

The comparison has been made (more…)

To Russia With Love, From The Sports Desk

Editor’s Note:  This is another in our new series of guest columns on current events.  Rudyard “Duke” Milhaus of the Sports Desk is well-known for his passionate commitment to objective journalism.  That we’re publishing his lovely and perfectly neutral article has nothing whatsoever to do with that large-bore handgun he keeps fiddling with.

What’s all this obsession we suddenly have with Russia?  Why is the media being so critical of them?  This is a country that not too many years ago I remember watching as we cheered their peaceful revolution, watched them embrace democracy and capitalism — and now we’re supposed to hate them?!  The new administration apparently wants to get along with them — what’s the matter with that? (more…)

Upcoming Immigration Ban: What We Know

(NOTE:  This article is being written in advance of the new Executive Order designed to function in place of that order of 27 January which has been partially blocked by the 9th Circuit.  It is designed to be predictive in nature.  When the new order finally is released, expect to see this updated with comparisons, but I’ll try to leave my predictions intact so you can see how smart I am — or how foolish, just as the case may be.  The new order has now been released; comparisons are in a separate section at the end of the article.)

One week after taking office, President Trump released an executive order banning travel to this country on certain passports.  I’ve written extensively on the pros and cons of accepting refugees, on the ways the ban went horribly wrong and why, and on the justifications for that ban.  Combining that with the decision of the 9th Circuit to block some of its implementation, we should be easily able to predict what’s about to get ordered. (more…)