November 4th, 2008, 69,498,516 people cheered – and not a few of them wept openly and joyously – at the election of Barack Obama. But the cheers and tears were not simply for the election of America’s first black President – it appeared a forty-year nightmare was at long last… Read full post »

My last post paid tribute to Take Five, the unlikely hit song from the seminal jazz album Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. With this post, I’d like to pay tribute to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, another seminal jazz album that coincidentally came out the same year – 1959.… Read full post »

Mea culpa. I apologize to Old New Lefty for a way too lengthy comment on his post, in which he asked the question what the hell is wrong with America. My first comment on his post addressed that subject with the lyrics from one of my songs Unsquare Dance, but my… Read full post »

Call me Bad Penny – I have returned, though I fear I have been inconspicuous by my absence. Here’s a brief explanation in answer to the unasked question “where the hell have you been?”

My hiatus was prompted by several factors, first and foremost the utter impossibility of n… Read full post »

Imagine if President Obama were to deliver these words during his Second Inaugural Address:

“On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war … While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted a… Read full post »

Tuesday, November 6^th, 2012, Southern Strategy died after a long bout with cancer. At such a time, it’s considered proper to offer condolences and to praise certain aspects of a life, particularly a life that figured so prominently in politics for over half-a-century. Indeed, Southern Strategy… Read full post »

This is the land of the lovers
The lovers of red, white and blue
But the truth hides between the covers
And this isn't the land I once knew

This is the land of the liars
Whose ends justify any means
And the ends to which they aspire
Leave… Read full post »

Once upon a time in a faraway land called Politica, there lived a lovely maid named Cinderjilla. She was fair and pleasant to look upon, sweet and kind and, it was said, was of a disposition most positive and progressive.

But, alas, Cinderjilla had been reduced to little more than… Read full post »

If there was ever any doubt which of the two major party candidates for President is up to the task, last night’s debate on foreign policy should have removed it. Barack Obama had command of the floor and the facts – and he didn’t need a teleprompter.

Mitt Romney… Read full post »

As the polls tighten, it’s time to speak plainly to my fellow Liberals. To put it simply and starkly, the barbarians are at the gates; this is no time to scatter our forces.

Yet time and again I hear the refrain on this liberal outpost that “both sides are… Read full post »

I have repeatedly leveled the charge that Mitt Romney is a sociopath. That’s a serious charge, and I do not make it lightly. One symptom of sociopathy is pathological lying. Another symptom is shamelessness – and Mitt Romney is a shameless liar.

Romney lies incessantly and repeatedly wit… Read full post »

I watched tonight's Presidential debate in its entirety. For that I deserve a new car -- or at least a cookie. The clear loser? Jim Lehrer. The clear winner? That’s debatable.

The pundit class compared it to Bush/Kerry I; but in many ways, it put me in mind of… Read full post »

“I’m not saying Indians never lied – they just never figured out a way to make a living at it.” Soulofhawk

My recent post History in Song drew some interesting comments. One commenter tried to twist the Indian Holocaust into an excuse to not pay taxes. Libertarian,… Read full post »

My long absence on my annual pilgrimage to the North Country has likely prompted some to imagine I've abandoned this outpost of semi-sanity in an otherwise absurd world.  Truth is my absence has led me to question whether writing here is worth it.

The answer to that question? Yes, so… Read full post »

Hi All

In case you're wondering, I'm off to Michigan for my annual concert at the Dogwood Center. Here's a link:

 http://www.dogwoodcenter.com/?m=20120818&cat=1

 If any of you are in the area, I'd love to meet up.

Walk in a good way,

Tom

  Read full post »

“History doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes.” Mark Twain

How is it possible that after all we've been through in the last decade – 9-11 ... two far-flung, dubious, costly wars ... overt and abject cronyism ...  offshoring jobs, income and profits ... the decimatio… Read full post »

Since it's the Fourth of July, it's altogether fitting and proper to salute those who have defended our freedom, people like Brig. General Anthony McAuliffe. During World War II, a German commander sent McAuliffe a note urging him to surrender. McAuliffe's response was brief and to the point… Read full post »

Pyrrhicism – yes, I coined another word, but its time has certainly come, what with all the threats on the Chicken-Little Left to vote third-party or not vote at all come November. And to compound their perfidy, they dare to boast that makes them morally superior.… Read full post »

My recent post A Cowboy Buryin’ drew a Reader’s Pick and some wonderful comments. Thank you all. Among the comments was one from Koshersalami, who offered what could be called bullet points on Judaism. What follows is drawn from his comment and my reply.

•   &… Read full post »

The shit has finally hit the spam, and never let it be said I missed out on a good food fight.  Old-timers here on Open Salon may remember when management foolishly decided to introduce advertising to this site. At the time, I protested and issued a dire… Read full post »

Hello Dear,

Kindly permit me to write you my ordeal and such seek your assiststance. I am Mrs. Angelina Nya from Ukraine but presently in the hospital for my operation. I married to late Mr. Dickson Nya Desmond, who was the ambassador of Ukraine in Ivory Coast.

We… Read full post »

Congratulations are in order – all my trials, lord, soon be over! Today I received a fabulous job offer, and it appears at some point it will require me to move to Canada:

•           •        … Read full post »

"I know from experience how much beauty Satan carried with him when he fell. Nobody ever said fallen angels were the ugly ones."

Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory

My family is filled with an all-but-endless cast of fascinating characters. Most of the… Read full post »

In response to Green Heron's open call, I give you Captain Blackheart:

  Read full post »

*Lakota “takes the fat”

Forgive me while I vent my spleen
But I can’t bear what I have seen
The hunter gone for harvest scene
Now there is nothing left to glean

Men who worshipped gold and green
Looted lands once so pristine
With fisted-glove and twisted mien
They took the fat an… Read full post »