Lessons Learned from the 1932-1933 Presidential Transition

The four-month Presidential transition from Hoover to FDR illustrates the perils of a government changeover during a time of economic crisis. There is much we can learn from it today; doubtless, Senator Obama's transition team has been studying it already.

And Everybody’s Shouting, 'Which Side Are You On?'

It is the nature of our fortnightly meetings here that I must sometimes anticipate what will be even as I work toward our mutual understanding of what is (this newspaper venue being obviously and inherently ephemeral), using the tools I have accumulated through experiences and intentions that were not adequate even when new. You may read this once before throwing it away; many purchasers of the paper will not grant me even that. I write Monday or Tuesday, anticipating where we may find ourselves on Thursday's publication date.

Like It Or Not, Change Is Coming

Last week, Common Dreams published an essay of mine titled "The Revolution Has Arrived." I suggested that the time had come for hippy ideals to be fully engaged, since so much of what that movement was about has come to be mainstream or nearly mainstream today. I ended with a mention of the fact that Barack Obama may be a corporate whore, but he's OUR whore and it's our job to make him do what's right.

You'd think I had suggested that we, on the Left, all cut off a leg and eat it for dinner. I made the mistake of providing a personal email address, inviting comment.

Talkin ‘Bout My Generation

At a recent visit with my mom she invited some of her friends over for dinner. Her friends, like her, are in their 60s and lean left. The conversation often revolves around the fate of the world. It went something like this:

Carol: "When we were young, feminism meant women created their own destiny, beyond the sphere of men. There was fierce intensity and true sisterhood. I fasted for 70 days for the ERA and women died. Nowadays women turn themselves into playthings for a man. They practically damn their independence like a curse."

John McCain in the Echo Chamber

October proved to be the cruelest month, for that was the time that Sen. McCain, he of the round, blank, Little Orphan Annie eyes, chose to try out a number of weird lies about Barack Obama ostensibly in the interest of a Republican Party long overdue for burial.

The West Is Red

John McCain accuses Barack Obama of wanting "European style socialism" in the US. If only.

Apart from the irony that the Bush administration is effectively nationalising the commanding heights of the economy in the course of the current economic crisis, one would have thought that this is - shall we say to be kind - an inappropriate time for a candidate to sing songs of praise to capitalism red in tooth and claw.

The Ugly America

"You really do hate America!" This was the parting shot from a man I had just debated on a television show shortly before the invasion of Iraq. Because he's a notorious right-wing blowhard, I laughed it off as the ravings of a crackpot in extremis.

Little did I know...