Creative Commentary
Opponents of Immigration Hurl Letters and Insults
Who are the angriest people in the United States? Are they the supporters or opponents of war in Iraq, neocons or neoliberals, the devout or the secular, disrespected homemakers or overworked career mothers? No is the answer to each of the aforementioned inquiries. The most outraged people in the land are those actively opposing illegal…
Read MoreSixty Years after Hitler
Sixty years ago tomorrow gasoline fumes jolted Adolf Hitler and his new bride Eva as they exited their suite to walk a solemn line. Staff members shook hands with the mentally and physically shattered Fuehrer who was unable to speak. Eva took each man’s hand and hugged the women, urging one to try to get…
Read MoreFantasizing on Highway 99
Pretty soon you’ve got to drive from Bakersfield to Sacramento. You are, of course, thankful you don’t have to start further south in Los Angeles and thus crawl up and down scorched and barren mountains that separate the city of glamour and poverty from the rest of the state. Your journey, instead, will take you…
Read MoreGeorge Thomas Clark Debates D.A. King about Immigration
This is my recent online exchange with D.A. King, founder of The American Resistance Foundation, a national coalition of citizens actively opposed to illegal immigration. Mr. King spends lots of his own money as he travels and speaks and takes part in rallies and debates all comers. George Thomas Clark – Don’t you think the Bush administration,…
Read MoreWhy Israel Should Help Build an Independent Palestine
Last week in Texas, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made simple statements that are simply incomprehensible: Israel will be withdrawing from Gaza this summer; but his nation must build new housing in the West Bank to establish an “unbroken presence” from Jerusalem to a community called Maale Adumim. Unfortunately, by so doing, Israel would be continuing…
Read MoreAnimals in Captivity – Two Chimpanzees Attack
I’ve been to zoos many times and always enjoyed them but my memories are most influenced not by casual visions of great creatures from the wild but by two more somber observations. The first was about thirty years ago at the Sacramento Zoo where I watched a big cat – not like a lion or…
Read MorePoliticians Condemn Your Debt, Deepen Theirs
I wasn’t looking for anything controversial, just a few quick early-morning facts before I began work. I suppose I should have been reading an almanac instead of a newspaper, for on one page an article explained why many people are sinking in credit card debt and on the other side a headline announced the United…
Read MoreHunter Thompson and Mental Health
Since Hunter Thompson put a gun in his mouth and shot himself last week, I’ve been digging deep into the Internet and reading lots of articles about him. The first wave of stories commended his hard-punching, eye-gouging, “gonzo” style of insightful political writing in such books as “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Kingdom…
Read MoreJose Canseco Shall Revolutionize Life
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my coronation,” said Jose Canseco. “I thought this was a press conference,” said a reporter. “It is rather more than that, you insufferable simpleton. How much do you make a year?” “About fifty grand.” “I made that every three days.” “Not anymore. That’s why you’re doing this.” “Money will henceforth…
Read MoreBabe Ruth on Steroids
“Boys, it’s great to be back. Too bad it’s off season. I haven’t been anywhere since 1948, and I’m ready to play.” “Babe, have you had time to read Jose Canseco’s book ‘Juiced’ that says eighty percent of major league baseball players used steroids?” a reporter asked. “Just finished it.” “Do you consider the new…
Read MoreLetter to Holocaust Deniers
A few days ago I received several e-mails from a group that says it didn’t happen. To the RePorter NoteBook: Your insinuations and assertions that the Holocaust never happened are preposterous and insulting, and your general explanation of how the ruse was pulled off is pitiful: Americans in the conquered West and Russians in the occupied East lied about the…
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