Category: Uncategorized
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The NRA Wants You(r money)
Originally posted on Filosofa's Word: In early 2016, President Obama proposed certain minimal gun regulations aimed at reducing gun violence. It was mainly aimed at making sure gun sales via the internet and gun shows followed the same regulations for background checks, etc., as those who had a physical nexus. But, of course, the…
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Moment of Silence
Today, of all days, marks a good time to pause and remember. And as millions of Americans struggle with present threats, its important to emphasize what unites is, instead of what divides us.
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Speaking of Statues
Atop the U.S. Capitol Dome stands a 19 ½-foot, 15,000-lb bronze woman in a classical Roman chiton. Workers hoisted her up there in five pieces, completing her installation in December 1863. Not a good year for national unity. She’s unusual for her era. “Armed Freedom,” as she’s known, bears a sword and wears a helmet at…
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Monuments, Torches, & Ketchup
Regardless of where you stand on the removal of monuments to Confederate slavery and racism, one thing is clear: the decades-long struggle of non-smokers everywhere goes entirely forgotten, with nary a statue.* In the 1970s the restaurants my family frequented offered non-smokers three tables at best. We might wait half an hour just to get…
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Deplorable
The ghost of Hillary Clinton had something to say in California this week: “I get the nomination. So I’m now the nominee of the Democratic Party. I inherit nothing from the Democratic Party. I mean, it was bankrupt, it was on the verge of insolvency, its data was mediocre to poor, nonexistent, wrong. I had…
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An Interview with Fred
Today I have the pleasure of interviewing an old friend who pops up at inconvenient times, Frederick Butts-Insky. He’s got a job not a lot of people know about, though he works for an organization we’re all familiar with. They are charged with protecting, among other things, the integrity of our great democracy, and I…
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Sin Tax, by Preston Lang, coming July 1 from All Due Respect Books
Just like Preston Lang to put out his next neo-noir surprise without telling anyone. Two months later: Surprise! Dark, humorous matter available. Review coming soon. Everyone knows that cigarettes will kill you. Mark works the overnight in a grimy deli in the Bronx, selling gray market smokes and bad meat. His hotheaded manager Janet pushes him…
Ben East Books 