Rather than news or politics, political cable news and network news cover the horse race: why this event is good for a politician and why that one isn’t. Ignored by the horserace are the real-world implications of the news, including how tragedies and triumphs affect actual real (but ordinary) citizens.
As Iraq spirals into sectarian civil war, one of the recurring stories on American media outlets is the mixed feelings of the American veterans who served in the invasion and subsequent occupation. While it’s understandable that they are wondering whether their sacrifices were worth it (hint: no way), shouldn’t we be giving at least equal time to the Iraqis who are living through the consequences of our war there?
As the government of Iraqi President Maliki teeters on the verge of collapse in the face of an insurgent assault by radical Sunnis, President Obama is sending 300 Special Forces soldiers back to Iraq. Propping up this lost cause makes one ask, what if President Ford had sent military advisers back to Vietnam as Saigon was being evacuated? Aren’t military advisers the start, rather the end, of a typical US intervention?
Now that Baby Boomers are heading into retirement and thus won’t be paying taxes anymore, and their Millennial children are working age adults, they’re suddenly terribly concerned about the burden posed on the younger generations of the present and future due to the national debt they helped run up. But the Boomers are forgetting something: generation after generation of Americans has been “burdening the next generation” – but no one ever has to pay the thing off.
In the United States, you’re supposed to be religious. But you’re not allowed to be fundamentalist – i.e., truly believing every tenet of your religion. You’re only supposed to follow a portion of the beliefs of your faith. But then, if you don’t fully embrace it, can you really call it your faith? 
President Obama is taking heat for agreeing to exchange Sgt. Bergdahl, an Afghanistan War POW held by the Taliban, for five high-ranking Talibs held as “detainees” at Guantanamo. Conservatives say he negotiated with terrorists (though the Taliban were the government of Afghanistan before being removed by a US invasion). More ridiculously, they worry that these five individuals might return to attack the U.S. – as if five people would make a difference in a war involving many thousands of fighters. I thought seeing this from the Afghan point of view would expose these lines of thinking for what they are.
Between the NSA, license plate scanners and skies full of drones, there will soon be no place for anyone who opposes an oppressive dictator to hide. So it’s only a matter of time before someone exploits these new technologies.
Joe Cornell, 52, was working in the lot of a Salvation Army location as part of a substance abuse rehabilitation program when he saw a bag of cash fall out of the back of a Brinks armored cash transport car as it drove over railroad tracks in downtown Fresno. He sent it back – because he was afraid of the police state.
In 15 years, America’s crime scapegoats have gone from the invented stage personae of rock musicians like Marilyn Manson to completely fictional art characters with crowd-sourced back stories.
Does anyone dream of becoming a conformist, of following the rules and defending America’s awful capitalist system?
