Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.
With all due respect to critics and members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Academy), how much a film makes, not whether it wins an Oscar, is the generally recognized measure of its success. Especially considering that winning an Oscar is more the result of crass political campaigning than any assessment of… Read more.
The world had come to expect only North Korean President Kim Jong-un to bluster about nuclear strikes. Then came US President Donald Trump blustering about raining down nuclear “fire and fury.” And now comes Russian President Vladimir Putin blustering about this: Russia has tested an array of new strategic nuclear weapons that can’t be intercepted,… Read more.
Social media platforms are replete with people venting outrage. And nothing commands coverage in mainstream media these days quite like an outrage going viral on social media. Except that such outrage often stems from little more than human herds banging out ignorant snark on their smart phones. Only this explains the viral outrage among black… Read more.
President Trump was obliged to hold a joint press conference when Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull visited the White House on Friday. This gave reporters an increasingly rare opportunity to question him in a formal setting. I feared they would waste the two questions Trump allowed to ask redundant ones about the Russia investigation. Therefore,… Read more.
I am pooped. What’s more, I risk permanent damage to my already failing eyesight if I watch another event. Never mind the irony that my addictive interest in watching healthy people compete is making me unhealthy. Frankly, I deserve a gold medal — not just for watching so many events but for writing so many… Read more.
In a Thursday tweet, Trump vowed to push for comprehensive background checks for gun sales, while calling for the minimum purchase age to be raised to 21. (The Hill, February 24, 2018) How crazy is that? After all, show me an 18-year-old who doesn’t drink because he’s not of age and I’ll show you one… Read more.
I noted in “Diplomatic Brinkmanship Upstages the Opening Ceremony” on February 9 that supervening events might limit my commentary on Olympic events. That has been the case, most notably last week with the Parkland mass shooting and the resignation of South African President Jacob Zuma, and this week with the death of Billy Graham and… Read more.
Terror group Boko Haram incited international outrage four years ago when it kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. In fact, no less a person than First Lady Michelle Obama led the viral protest #BringBackOurGirls. Yet, just two years later, you would have been forgiven for having no clue this infamous kidnapping… Read more.
Billy Graham figures prominently in my earliest memories of television. My family used to gather round to watch his Christian crusades in the late 1960s, much as families do to watch Football games today. This analogy works on many levels. Most notably, we were as fanatical about religion as any fan is about Football. And… Read more.
Figure Skating Ice Dance In Sochi, this event was Exhibit A for the alleged rigging that complemented Russia’s state-sponsored doping program. Except that the United States reportedly colluded with Russia: According to L’Équipe, which quoted an unnamed Russian coach, the United States intended to help Russia win the overall team event and the pairs competition.… Read more.
