Politics

The Myth of the Assimilating Immigrant, Speaking English, and Eroding Americana

November 15, 2016 1 Comment

Discussions about immigration are funny. They tend to focus on the same small handful of heartfelt pleas; arguments about losing our culture, griping that immigrants don’t learn the language (“the language” being English), and the idea that immigrants of the past used to come here and work hard to assimilate themselves into American culture. As we’re about to discover, that last part is largely a myth. First, a word on the language. The United States has no official language. Never has. As immigration has increased from non-European countries, there have also been increasing calls for a national language, thus far to no avail. Some individual states do, 32 of them in all, but not the United States itself. Our documents are written in English, and…
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Politics, Random Musings

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BREAKING: exclusive transcript of Donald Trump’s meeting with President Obama!

November 10, 2016 2 Comments

As everyone knows, President-elect Donald Trump met with President Obama today to discuss the transition and get that complicated ball rolling. The meeting happened behind closed doors, but thanks to some inside connections with a few journalist friends inside the Beltway, I was able to procure a transcript. Enjoy: OBAMA: Mr. President-elect, welcome to the White House. I’m glad you could join us today and hope we can make this transition of power be as smooth as possible. TRUMP: It’s good to be here. So good. Good like you wouldn’t believe. I just know that I am going to be sick of how good it is, that’s how good it’s going to be. OBAMA: The transition can be difficult. There is a lot of work…
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Politics, Random Musings

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Donald Trump, aka the easy way to lose respect for people you like

August 11, 2016 128 Comments

There is no sense in trying to be diplomatic about this: If you still support Donald Trump for president in August of 2016, I have zero respect for your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. I might like you. I may enjoy being around you. I may even consider you an important part of my life. But failing the Trump Test ensures that I have absolutely zero respect for your views, your (apparantly nonexistent) critical thinking skills, and pretty much anything you have to say about anything more important than your favorite fast food French fries. Yes, I realize that by opening this way anyone who supports or who is thinking about supporting Donald Trump will not only be insulted and offended, and that I may lose the goodwill…
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Politics, Rants

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“Why don’t Muslims protest against ISIS?” and other idiotic questions

June 17, 2016 4 Comments

It’s exceedingly rare that I stray into politics here, or on any public forum, for that matter — you know what they say about sleeping with dogs — but a few comments I’ve seen online the last few days have caused my knee to jerk. Need to get this out of my system. In the wake of the horrific attack in Orlando, Florida, the conversation looks much the same as it does every time there is a mass shooting. The same debate about guns. The same debate about rights. The same endless talking in circles. The same reductive, mindless repetition of the same thoughtless, meme-driven arguments by people on all sides. It’s incredibly tiresome, especially when the ground is stained with the blood of innocent…
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Politics, Rants

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Campaign season is the worst thing ever

April 30, 2010 2 Comments

Brutha, there is no more awful time of the year than campaign season. As many of you know, in my day job I’m a newspaper guy. I do the kind of things newspaper guys do. Right now, that means managing the coverage of two fierce mayoral elections. And let me tell you, my hatred for campaign season is the kind of hatred usually reserved for famine, pestilence, genocide, and Barbra Streisand. Not in that order. I’d go into details, but not in a public forum. Suffice to say that after 11 years of covering local politics, I’m more than a little jaded at the process and the people and all the little insanities that go into it. I aim to do a good job because…
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Politics, Rants

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