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 »

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'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 »

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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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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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 »

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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"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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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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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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The news today wasn't good for the unemployed.

After job losses in May were less than expected, sparking hopes that things were turning around in the jobs market, unemployment went up for the ninth consecutive month in June. More than 450,000 jobs were lost, compared to 322,000 in May.

And, as CNN… Read full post »

Earlier this year, conservatives squawked loudly about the Obama economic stimulus package. Too costly, they said. Meanwhile, those on the left, including the Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman, argued that it wasn't enough.

But now, unemployment has already exceeded what the admini…

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Barack Obama is urging a nervous public to be patient.

In his radio address yesterday, the president claimed that the stimulus plan had "pull(ed) our financial system and our economy back from the brink." Now, he said, Americans must be patient.

Stay the Course Redux, anyone?

I understa/…

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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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"... conferrin' with the flowers, consultin' with the rain ..."

Well, that makes about as much sense to me as some of the things I'm witnessing.

Here's a good example. Today, Fed chief Ben Bernanke told Congress that the pace of the economic decline appears to have slowed,…

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I've been writing a blog for nearly two years now.

In late June, one of the editors at Salon.com contacted me by e–mail, asking me if I would agree to have my blog entries posted at Open Salon as well. I wouldn't have to do anything special, I was assured. Once… Read full post »

Honestly.

Of all the non–issues I have seen that distract attention away from the real issues that need to be discussed, this so–called "birther" matter takes the cake.

As I see it, here is what you need to know. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, nearly two years after it became a…

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Nearly a century ago, Booth Tarkington wrote a series of novels known as the "Growth" trilogy.

It followed a fictional prominent family, the Ambersons, and its prestige and influence in a fictional Midwestern city from the end of the Civil War to the early years of the 20th century — during whic… Read full post »

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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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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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"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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I know we're all eager for the recession to be over.

Most economists say the recession began in December 2007, which means that the economy has been in the toilet for more than a year and a half. It's been just about a year since the economic meltdown that really sent things…

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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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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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A good friend of mine (his name is Doug) runs a news blog that he calls Publick Occurrences.

Unless you have more than a passing interest in American history, that may not mean much to you. In fact, your initial reaction may be that the word "public" is misspelled. Of course, I… Read full post »