Bits & Pieces
Articles with unfiltered opinions
Latest Politics
Spies and Lies
Our government has totally shredded our right to privacy and will blatantly lie about the vast extent of its domestic surveillance apparatus. We suspected it before, but now—thanks to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden—we know it. The lying didn’t become a matter of established record, however, until Senator Ron Wyden’s persistent questioning at a Senate Select...
Asshole of the Month: Rand Paul
This month’s shit-for-brains is a Republican only because the Libertarian Party ain’t got a turd’s chance at the toilet factory of ever getting into the White House. And because the Tea Party isn’t really a party, just a whacko faction of the GOP. And because the Ku Klux Klan isn’t a party either. And because...
Schoolyard Police State?
The National Security Agency’s voracious surveillance of Americans shows what the federal government thinks of privacy. But local law-enforcement agencies and school administrators nationwide are also destroying We the People’s Constitutional rights with impunity. In his TomDispatch.com blog “The Over-Policing of America,” lawyer Chase Madar details how oppressive our country has become: “There is the...
Truth, Treason & The American Way?
Edward Snowden is the John Peter Zenger of our time. In case you don’t get the historical reference, Zenger was a key figure in this nation’s grand struggle for freedom of the press. In 1734 he was charged with seditious libel for printing articles challenging the power of New York’s colonial governor. Zenger was jailed...
Asshole of the Month: Martha MacCallum
Fox News Channel chief Roger Ailes must be running a stupidity sweepstakes. He probably pays his bottle-blond Aryan airheads based on how high their sound bites score on the outrage meter. You gotta admit, that would explain a lot. Unfortunately for morning propaganda mistress Martha MacCallum, she’s up against the likes of Megyn Kelly. It’s...
A Supreme Injustice
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order that Verizon hand over all its customer records to the National Security Agency. The outcome, as CommonDreams.org reported in November 2013, didn’t surprise me: “We Don’t Wanna Hear It.” The august justices gave no reason for...
To Hell With the Money Changers!
Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin hate Pope Francis, and that’s all the recommendation you need that he may be blessed with divine wisdom. Hallelujah and about time for a break between those who affirm the sanctity of human life in the spirit of Jesus and the charlatans of the Christian Right who believe only in...
Asshole of the Month: Larry Klayman
Even the most pathetic little turd can have a big dream once in a while. Right-wing attorney Larry Klayman’s latest stillborn fantasy was to lead a Tea Party lynch mob of millions to Washington, D.C., and spark the “Second American Revolution.” That’s code for “drag the black man out of the White House.” Less than...
Obama’s Iron Fist
On first taking possession of the Oval Office, Barack Obama appeared to be restoring basic Constitutional rights annulled by the Bush-Cheney regime. The President pledged to soon close the detention facility at Guantanamo, where alleged terrorists were sent to be held indefinitely outside American rule of law. And with a special dramatic tribute to our...
Flash of Patriotism On Capitol Hill
Sometimes Republicans get it right, usually after first being terribly wrong. But when sanity does prevail, we should be thankful all the same. That’s why Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican and former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is that rare right-winger I want to commend. True, he screwed up a decade ago in...
Asshole of the Month: Elisabeth Hasselbeck
The list of people repulsive enough to get named Asshole of the Month three times is pretty fucking exclusive. So let’s give the newest member of this pantheon of shame—virulent media terrorist Elisabeth Hasselbeck—a congratulatory extra dollop on her crap sandwich. The rectal floozy who recently migrated like a shit-seeking fly to Fox News’ Fox...
NSA, FBI & MLK
On the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, I remembered being near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. What I didn’t know then I learned in September 2013: Declassified documents revealed that during the 1960s the National Security...
Big Brother’s in Your Pocket
Your smartphone is your enemy. Yes, that cute little sidekick you carry around is a vicious snitch that does more than monitor your every movement and purchase. The handy device continuously reports back to a vast government-controlled computer network that can swoop down to punish you for any behavior disapproved of by omnipresent Big Brother....
Asshole of the Month: Mike Lee
Imagine if you called a plumber in to fix your bathroom and all he did was whack off into your sink all day. You might want to say to him, “I’m glad to see you’re passionate about your work, but how the hell is this fixing a goddamn thing?!” That’s what Tea Party voters are...
ACLU Thought Police?
I have long expressed admiration for the American Civil Liberties Union for ardently defending the Constitution in our legislatures and courts, including the Supreme Court. Since September 2001 the ACLU has had a much tougher task thanks to the Bush-Cheney and Obama administrations. At times, however, I have strongly disagreed with ACLU Executive Director Anthony...
Just Blow the Right Whistle
Americans love to be lied to; otherwise Edward Snowden would be a wildly popular national hero. Same for Bradley Manning, Glenn Greenwald, Julian Assange and others who risk their freedom to inform us about the myriad ways we are continually deceived by our government. These whistleblowers are performing a public service. They’re democracy’s lifeblood, nourishing...
Asshole of the Month: Steve King
We can hammer away day and night at the Republican Party, but let’s be honest. Nobody can do as much damage as its own members. Like demented earthworms writhing in a Mid western manure pile, they seem obsessed with screwing themselves as often and as brainlessly as possible. For that reason, this month’s Asshole is...
Teach Jazz!
A well-intentioned George W. Bush mistakenly championed the No Child Left Behind Act. Teachers throughout the nation had to spend a lot of time preparing students for standardized tests in reading and math. These determined not only if students could be promoted but also which teachers could keep their jobs. Much to my dismay, classes...
Who’s the Traitor?
Thanks to the patriotic courage of Edward Snowden and the once-secret documents he leaked to the media, we now know in frightening detail the danger posed to our freedom by the new information-age technology combined with the hysteria of the post-9/11 surveillance state. If I communicate the rough draft of these thoughts that I am...
Topple the King
“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Since becoming America’s 44th President, Barack Obama has repeatedly scorned that sacred oath. Our Founding Fathers risked their very lives...
