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Selection of the Next DNC Chairperson: Making the Right Decision for Shameful Reasons

The selection of the next chairperson of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has enormous implications for the future of the party. There is currently a strong movement within the party to select Rep. Keith Ellison (MN) as chair. Ellison is an outspoken and active progressive. He represents the Paul Wellstone tradition of Minnesota Democrats. He served as Co-Chair of the Congressional…

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#Bernie Sanders #DNC #DNC Chairperson #Israel lobby #Keith Ellison #Tom Perez

Grieving for Post-Election America: Time to Take a Breather

The election of Donald Trump has been like the loss of a loved one. It is possible to go about one’s daily routine, doing normal things, thinking one’s accustomed thoughts, making plans consistent with a normal life – when suddenly it hits! – Trump has been elected President of the USA and nothing is the same. Yesterday (12/20/16) it stuck me how much our (I refer to myself and my fellow…

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#Electoral College #Five states of grief #Kubler-Ross #Progressive radio #Progressives #Trump

The Trump “Movement:” Fascism as Cult

I have been of the opinion for some time that the “movement” around now President-Elect Donald Trump is a cult. This view has been expressed by writers in several publications (see here, here, and here, for example). I have also expressed my belief that Trump is a fascist. The possibility that Trump is the center of a fascist incursion into our political system has also been explored by writers…

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#Cults #De-programming #Donald Trump #Fascism #George Orwell #Newspeak #Robert Jay Lifton #Umberto Eco

The Post-Election Democratic Party: It’s Time to Make the “Big Tent” a Reality

In the aftermath of the disastrous presidential election, journalists, political analysts, and other “pundits” have begun to dissect the Democratic Party in an effort to determine how the party and its candidate lost so unexpectedly and decisively. This is reminiscent of the review undertaken by the Republican Party after its 2012 defeat – the so-called “autopsy” report. The Democratic Party has…

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#"Big Tent"#2016 election #Democratic coalition #Democratic National Committee #Democratic Party #Michael Moore #Progressive Democrats #Republican "Autopsy" Report #Working class white voters

Is the Proposed “Muslim Registry” Trump’s Reichstag Fire?

On February 27, 1933, an arson fire destroyed Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag. Hitler’s Nazi party blamed the fire on foreign-born communists, one of whom was convicted and executed. The fire and the purported threat of a communist coup d’etat provided the basis for legislation outlawing political activities by non-approved (meaning other than the Nazis) political groups. This, in…

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#Donald Trump #Hitler #Islam #Japanese-American internment #Kris Kobach #Muslim registry #Nazis #Reichstag Fire #Terrorism

Hillary Had Nothing to Apologize For

Democrats are nice. Minnesota nice. North Carolina polite and Tupelo honey sweet. Nice like children who’ve been browbeaten and bullied by their parents are nice. With the slightest upturn of an eyebrow and downturn of a mouth they apologize for being born and everything they’ve done since.

So of course Hillary Clinton apologized for her remarks about half of Donald Trump’s supporters being a…

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#Apology #Basket of Despicables #Charles Blow #Donald Trump #Hillary Clinton

Chicago: Are Crushing Taxes Rahm’s Way of Crushing the Unions?

The city of Chicago is in the midst of a financial crisis. Or is it? The official record indicates that the city faces a budget shortfall of $137.6 million. This deficit was left after borrowing $2…

Source: Chicago: Are Crushing Taxes Rahm’s Way of Crushing the Unions?

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Can We Stop the Shootings if We Don’t Understand the Shooters?

The number of shootings and killings by gunfire in Chicago has reached a level not seen for two decades. The latest high profile killing has brought this sad fact to the nation’s attention again. …

Source: Can We Stop the Shootings if We Don’t Understand the Shooters?

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Chicago: Are Crushing Taxes Rahm’s Way of Crushing the Unions?

The city of Chicago is in the midst of a financial crisis. Or is it? The official record indicates that the city faces a budget shortfall of $137.6 million. This deficit was left after borrowing $220 million at high interest rates due to the city’s disastrously low credit rating. (However, borrowing at such high interest rates is a bonanza for financial institutions buying the city’s bonds.…

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#Budget #Budget Crisis #Chicago #Chicago is Not Broke #Chicago Teachers Union #Public pension crisis #Rahm Emanuel #Tom Tresser #Wayne Bessen

Can We Stop the Shootings if We Don’t Understand the Shooters?

The number of shootings and killings by gunfire in Chicago has reached a level not seen for two decades. The latest high profile killing has brought this sad fact to the nation’s attention again. In this case the victim was Nykea Aldridge, a 32-year-old mother of four and, of national significance, the cousin of newly acquired Chicago Bull Dwyane Wade.

Two young Black men were arrested and…

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#Chicago #Gangs #Gun violence #Moral values #Nykea Aldridge #Police-Community relations #Prison conditions #Shootings

Under Aerial Bombardment

As I write this, I’m under an aerial bombardment. Not really. It just feels – or, more precisely, sounds – like it. The Chicago Air and Water Show 2016 is upon us.

The US Air Force and Navy are using area military bases as launch sites as they practice their routines. Unfortunately, their flight path over the lake brings them over my neighborhood. When they get into full high speed performance…

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#Chicago #Chicago Air and Water Show #F-35 #Lockheed-Martin #Military Industrial Complex #Shell Oil

Goodbye, Penny Dreadful. Goodbye, Person of Interest. Hello, Preacher.

When I taught the Introduction to Religion and Philosophy of Religion, I often referred to TV shows (and also movies) that illustrated key concepts that we were studying. There are not many shows that intelligently engage the big questions that religions represent. But there are, from time to time, a few shows that offer the viewer an invitation to explore these questions. Two of these shows…

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#Battlestar Galactica #Manichaeanism #Penny Dreadful #Person of Interest #Preacher #Problem of evil #Religion #TV

The Millenial Vote and the Politics of Distraction (Part II: Conspiracy, no. Theory, yes.)

In Part I of this article, I offered the idea that The Game of Thrones (TGoT) and Pokémon Go contributed to the disengagement of millenials from the political process by luring them into alternate worlds that are more satisfying than the one where we struggle with the complexity of real politics.

Perhaps this is overthinking and overreach. And I have to confess (as I have done previously) that I…

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#Pokemon Go #The Game of Thrones #The Matrix #TV

The Millenial Vote and the Politics of Distraction (Part I: Demographics and Dire Warnings)

The Republican National Convention formally nominated Donald Trump and Mike Pence in an orgy of hatred and fear mongering. This week the Democratic National Convention will confirm Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

Rational people will rally behind the Democratic candidates and reject the Trump rhetoric of racism, sexism, xenophobia and…

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First Steps toward Reasonable Gun Regulation?

I accept the reality of slippery slopes. Sometimes lifting the corner of the tent does allow the camel to stick his nose in. And these are not necessarily bad things. A lot depends on the angle of the slope and the size of the camel. Sometimes a good result requires a modest start, so modest that it is not worth obstructing. And yet – like the little stone rolling down a snow covered hill – as…

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#Chicago #Democrats #Gun Control #Gun violence #House of Representatives #Mass shootings #US Senate #US Supreme Court

We Know Who Hillary Clinton is Against. Soon We’ll Find Out What She’s For.

Hillary Clinton is the de factoDemocratic nominee for the presidency. And she has been campaigning with that understanding in mind. She has a multitude of endorsements from high-ranking Democrats and a few disaffected Republicans. President Obama and Vice President Biden have endorsed her and will soon campaign for her nationally. Senator Elizabeth Warren has endorsed her and campaigned with her…

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#Barack Obama #Clinton campaign #Democratic National Convention #Donald Trump #Hillary Clinton

Religion and Ideology

This article started out as the second part of an intended critique of the “new atheism.” But the article got to be too big and, not having a professional publishing outlet, I shelved entire draft.

However, recently I found an interview in Slate.comwith Olivier Roy, a professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Prof. Roy is an expert on religions (especially Islam) and…

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#Communism #Cult of personality #Ideology #Islam #Nationalism #Religion

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