Events of the past two weeks have driven home for us that President Donald J. Trump and his Republican Party must be driven from power. Two weeks of impeachment hearings left Republicans in Congress with only castigations to hurl at government employees who came forward to lay out Trump’s long list of crimes and misdemeanors. […]
It was just another weekend of racism in America. People on both sides of the political aisle called on Ralph Northam, governor of Virginia, to resign his position after he apologized for a picture in his medical school annual that showed a man in blackface standing next to a man in Klan robes. The governor […]
After a period of several days when Donald Dementia waged war against the media, it was no surprise that he turned his guns on some other target just to shake things up. But I don’t think anyone fathomed that he might give the military a reason to doubt that he had its back. And man, […]
After the results of Tuesday’s elections were pretty much tied up tight, I couldn’t sleep. In part, I was wondering how to get the Republican Party’s picture affixed to the side of milk carton. They haven’t been seen in a while, and while I’m pretty sure that they’re dead, we cannot be certain until we’ve […]
Early voting began Oct. 22 in Texas, with long lines and enthusiasm on one side for Beto O’Rourke, a U.S. Representative who’s trying to unseat Texas Sen. Rafael “Ted” Cruz. The incumbent purports that his supporters are just as fired up as Beto’s. Opinion polls are all over the place. Some show Beto with a […]
One of the more interesting newspaper stories of the month of August was by Kate Zernike, of The New York Times. In article headlined ” ‘Don’t Run This Year’: The Perils for Republican Women Facing a Flood of Resistance,” Ms. Zernike detailed the scuffling of Republicans to try and find candidates who might win, but […]
One of the pleasures of my morning commute is to listen to comedian-activist Stephanie Miller’s radio show on Sirius XM (Progress). She often begins with a review of whatever shenanigans Putin’s Poodle (PP) has fouled the White House with overnight. She seldom has been left hanging, from the continued assaults on the the First Amendment, […]
Reading today’s story by former-and-still colleague Christine Lavin jogged my memory of events in the newspaper business. I have never seen the business end of a weapon, and hope that I never will. But Chris’ memories of newspaper security are more or less right on. When I worked at The Beaumont Enterprise in Texas, I […]
Manuel Oliver is an artist whose son, Joaquin, was among the victims in the Parkland High School massacre. He has become a noted critic of the NRA, the nation’s gun laws and the cowardice of American politicians who won’t stand up to the gun-rights organization and it’s payoffs — uh, campaign contributions. The Shinbone Star […]
Mostly in the shadow of Dallas City Hall, two generations of gun attack victims were together on Saturday just up the street from the annual convention of the National Rifle Association. The catalyst for youth and adults who want to do something about the proliferation of automatic weapons in the U.S. was, of course, the […]
Perhaps before the day is out, in various media availabilities, National Rifle Association spokesmen will have something to say about the concerns that they’re receiving money from Russian oligarchs — money they use for . . . well, what DO they use that money for? And aren’t the Russians suddenly trying a little too hard […]
We’re expecting more than 70,000 Americans, many of them gun-totin’, to attend this year’s convention of the National Rifle Association this week here in Dallas. Registration was yesterday and I was expecting a 101-gun salute, but it didn’t happen. That would have commemorated the number of lives sacrificed across the country since the last […]
It’s been said before in this space that Republicans spent a lot of years out of power, that they fought tooth and nail to regain power, and now that they have power they have no idea how to wield that power for the greater good. How else can you explain the tax cuts for the […]
Be awake the next few days. This post is offered as one of those I-hope-I’m-wrong-but-I-want-to-be-prepared predictions, all based on a gut feeling that came to me a few days ago. On Sunday evening, The Current President talked with reporters upon returning from Camp David, and when asked if he planned to fire Special Counsel Robert […]
When a big-time college sports team beats up on a school that can’t compete with it, the losing school is called a “cupcake.” Sometimes that’s unfair, as when Troy went into Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this fall and beat LSU. But usually it’s a slaughter. The term cupcake wasn’t always in use. When I was a […]
I begin with an apology. My son was in high school, and among his college considerations was the University of Alabama. I said then that my son, a bandsman, would make a good addition to that fine program and would probably be welcomed. “You have all your own teeth, so they’ll love that,” I said, […]
Today in Alabama, voters go to the polls to decide who will be their next U.S. senator. And I thought this would be an easy little piece to pump out. I want the Alabamians to do the right thing, but I just don’t believe they have it in them. Recent polling indicates that white voters are […]
Funny story from my first trip to England a few months ago. My wife had previously been to the Tower of London, so she knew this old history degree-holder would love it. She took off for the Tate Modern, and I made my way to the place that trails only Stonehenge in the race to […]
The Current President (TCP) has posited that he decided to end cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments to insurers because the Affordable Care Act is imploding. Democrats, TCP said, need to call the White House to help him fix what’s ailing the system. I thought that sounded pretty much like a “shoot the hostages” demand, and not […]
So, Republicans are reeling and The Current President (TCP) is seething because his long sought coup de grace to the legacy of the nation’s first Black President just will not by-god come to fruition. For how many years have those people talked about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act? They spent years whipping their racist […]
THE SHINBONE STAR 