This morning, I have been reading about an interesting legal case involving a supposedly anonymous blogger in New York whose identity was revealed by the blog's host, Google.

The blogger had "posted rants" about a model at a blog titled "Skanks in NYC." The model, Liskula Cohen, didn't want the blogge… Read full post »

While those on the left insist on fanning the flames of racism and those on the right are equally insistent that race is not a factor in their opposition to Obama administration policies, a few people do seem to grasp what is really at stake — the future of the political…

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Tomorrow is the anniversary of my "termination." That's a nice phrase, isn't it? It sort of implies that, yes, you don't have a job anymore but it wasn't your fault. Saying "you're terminated" is nonjudgmental, unlike "you're fired." It'…

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I've never really been sure how I felt about Sarah Palin.

Granted, I had my doubts about putting a former mayor and a first–term governor a heartbeat away from the presidency (although it wouldn't exactly have been a first for America — that sounds a lot like Calvin Coolidge's political r&… Read full post »

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In my life, I have had a variety of jobs and a variety of titles. But, no matter what kind of work I happened to be doing or what my title happened to be, I always considered myself a journalist.

Journalism was my major in college and graduate school. For/…

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Barbara Jordan addresses the House Judiciary Committee.

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Today is the 35th anniversary of an important event in American history.

On this day in 1974, the House Judiciary Committee approved, by a 27–11 vote, the first article of impeachment against Richard Nixon. The article de… Read full post »

I must possess an odd brand of patriotism. I never thought I did when I was growing up, but now, in the early years of the 21st century, it has become increasingly clear to me.

Maybe my mind processes things in ways that others do not.

A few years ago, I heard arguments…

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Once again, the appearance of improvement in the jobless numbers has turned out to be a mirage.

And I am more convinced than ever that the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress made a fatal mistake by not making job creation a priority.

The midterm elections are about 14 months away, but…

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Readers of my primary blog, Freedom Writing, from which most of my posts here originate, know that I am unemployed.

Having said that, today I am offering one of my rare Open Salon exclusives. I hope you will share your thoughts on this after you read it.

I don't really have… Read full post »

I believe in freedom of speech, the free exchange of ideas, the right to question what someone else has said or written. I do not block anyone from my blog. If someone wants to make a comment on anything I have written, that is fine.

I do not believe in freedom of…

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With the unemployment rate nearing 10%, Robert Samuelson of Newsweek probably is guilty of stating the obvious when he says this is "the bleakest Labor Day since at least the early 1980s."

He goes on to say that "cheery news is scarce." To which many long–term unemployed peop…

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Here in Dallas, the Kennedy assassination remains a sore topic nearly half a century later.

The Sixth Floor Museum, which occupies the sixth floor of the old Texas School Book Depository (the same floor from which the shots allegedly were fired at President Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963),/…

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The problems with importing my posts from my original blog continue. For the second time in the last few days, I have disabled my RSS feed and re-imported it.

I don't have time to do that every three or four days. So this is it.

If you don't see any more current… Read full post »

Every day on the calendar has seen a suicide at one time or another. The reasons for ending one's life and the methods for accomplishing the goal vary, but the end result for those who succeed — and not all who attempt it are successful — is the same.

And no single…

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"Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done she gave her father forty–one."

Anonymous

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If you're over 25, you surely remember the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

But you would have to be over…

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"The greatest, most obvious mistake that American administrations make is to overcompensate for the flaws of the previous one. The pendulum should come to rest in the middle, not swing to the other extreme."

Robert Kaplan
The Atlantic

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Robert Kaplan makes an observation, in his piece in The Atlantic,…

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This is a personal milestone for me. This is my 1,000th post on this blog.

It all began with a simple post about picking a name for my blog two years ago tomorrow — on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007.

I'm going all Ted Baxter here.

Do you remember Ted Baxter, the pompous/…

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I don't know how long my life will last, but I think I will always remember the night of July 20, 1969.

And I think anyone who is old enough to remember that day will say the same thing. My brother, for example, was 6 years old, and I'm sure/…

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When I was studying journalism in college, one thing my professors constantly told us was that it was essential for journalists to be unbiased, to maintain their balance when writing about the news.

There is a place for opinion, they told us. That is the editorial page.

Maybe they taught me that lesson…

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Among other things, Watergate had a profound influence on American vocabulary.

A good example was John Ehrlichman's suggestion to allow acting FBI director L. Patrick Gray to "twist slowly, slowly in the wind."

It was one of those phrases that seemed appropriate for many people on many occasi/…

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I had high hopes for the movie "Amelia" that opens today in theaters across the country.

I've always enjoyed a good "biopic," as such films are called — as long as they have something meaningful to say or to contribute to discussions about their subjects. And Amel…

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The last couple of days have reminded me so much of the outpouring of affection for Ronald Reagan when he died in 2004.

There were times during Reagan's memorials a little more than five years ago when I felt the mourners were laying it on a little thick. But I/…

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"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

William Shakespeare

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I find it interesting that 57–year–old Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al–Megrahi — aka the Loc…

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(NOTE: For two weeks now, my posts, which originate at my Freedom Writing blog, have not been posting automatically at Open Salon.

(I have been told that technicians are looking into this, and, hopefully, they will correct it soon. In the meantime, I have been told that I can copy and… Read full post »

Last month, I wrote about the release of the Lockerbie bomber from prison. He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and had been given three months to live — so, presumably, he will be dead by Thanksgiving.

It was a humanitarian gesture by the authorities in Scotland, where he was incarcerated…

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