Creative Commentary
Construction Magnate Declares that Walls are Key to Peace
“Good fences make good neighbors,” declares a man on the other side of his border with Robert Frost, and the poet considers telling him: “Before I built a wall I’d ask to know what I was walling in or walling out.” I’m poised online, and at points of conflagration worldwide, to tell Mr. Frost that…
Read MoreThe Most Difficult Choice
Only yesterday did I realize how harsh and mistrusting I’d been. Only then did I understand I should have helped in December 2004 when I received an urgent email from Mrs. Rita Savimbi, wife of heroic Angolan revolutionary and guerilla leader Jonas Savimbi. The erudite Mr. Savimbi, who lyrically spoke seven languages, dedicated forty years…
Read MoreHamas Leaders Debate their Historic Victory
Two high ranking Hamas officials yesterday debated the meaning of their party’s recent landslide victory over Fatah in the Palestinian elections. One of the officials is associated with the military arm of Hamas and the other is involved in social services. Both demanded anonymity. Military Official – Now the Israelis will have to yield to…
Read MoreCongressman John Murtha Tells Truth about Iraq, GOP Bleats, Demos Bolt
Tough and forthright Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha recently told the truth about United States involvement in Iraq and for that good service was bombarded by vitriol from Republicans and the stampeding feet of retreating fellow Democrats. Evidently, most leading Democrats in congress either agree with the current fight-fight-damn-the-consequences policy of President George W. Bush or…
Read MoreIn a House as Hurricane Katrina Blew
Louise loved the beaches and historic mansions, and nearby rivers and bayous, and living just down the road from her daughter and son-in-law. The slower Southern pace also soothed her, and after a few months in Gulfport, Mississippi she’d resolved to stay forever. Why would she leave? Local veterans said no reason to. Sure, in…
Read MoreWilliam Bennett on Ultimate Morality
“It is most ironic and unfair that I, a supremely righteous man and the epitome of moral rectitude for a generation of divine white conservatives, am currently being pilloried for making an immoral statement. My statement was in fact taken out of context. And that is the only immorality in this tale. What I said…
Read MoreHurricane Katrina Pushes Woman East then West
At age nine Linda began babysitting and cleaning homes, quit high school at sixteen, had her first child two years later, married a man who bombarded himself with drugs, divorced him, and began moving the other way. For eight years she managed residential properties of a private investor, and eventually lived in one of his…
Read MoreThe Toby Keith Nation
Do you like tattoos? You’ll see plenty before a Toby Keith concert, especially if it’s outdoors in August in the Inland Empire, an exploding conglomeration of hot and sandy city-towns inhabited by those who can’t afford or don’t want to live near Los Angeles an hour to the west. Out east in the desert, this…
Read MoreNew Orleans Cries for New Priorities
As thousands of human and animal corpses decompose in waters contaminated with the detritus of a recently great city now synonymous with devastation, there is – as in every catastrophe – an implicit and utterly overwhelming demand to learn something, to avoid or at least diminish the horror of a similar experience. So what are…
Read MorePoverty and Kidnapping in a Luxury Theater
You’re weary of suburban cineplexes and their silly car-crash-and-explosion movies with banal characters you watch while eating eternal candy, popcorn, and hot dogs. You want a different movie experience. Where do you go? Get online and read about the ArcLight Theater. Its location is certainly enticing – Sunset and Vine in Hollywood, still the epicenter…
Read MoreJackie Robinson is Alive in Pasadena
Be careful. Don’t get online and type in words that could summon photos of a gray and disintegrating Jackie Robinson days before his death at age fifty-three in 1972. Even if you’ve just seen “National Pastime,” the acclaimed play about his life, resist the urge to research. Instead, buy a large, home-baked cookie as you…
Read MoreImmigration Reform – Debate II – George Thomas Clark v. D.A. King
In April my online debate about immigration with D.A. King, founder of The American Resistance, attracted many readers, a stack of letters, and interest from other online publications. Now Mr. King and I are going to discuss the border security and immigration reform legislation proposed by, among others, Senator John McCain and Senator Edward Kennedy. I support this legislation. …
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