Howard’s Farewell to Elayne
Howard Shapray is widely known as a great guy, a fine lawyer and a devoted father and husband. After a lengthy struggle with incurable disease, Howard's wife, Elayne, ended her…
The Mound of Sound
Making Sense of the Republican Fiasco
Like many observers I have watched the Republican presidential race with a combination of astonishment and horror. As Donald Trump won his party's nomination I struggled to make sense of…
Is Putin Plotting to Scuttle Hillary?
There are various media reports indicating that the Kremlin is preparing a massive leak of Hillary Clinton's unauthorized emails.The rumour is the Russians intercepted or somehow hacked some 20,000 of…
The Art of the Deal
Donald Trump likes to mention his book, The Art of the Deal. Only it's not really his book. It was ghost-written by Tony Schwartz who says, if he had a…
Another Screw-Up for the Big Orange Bloat
Okay, Donald Trump has chosen his running mate, Koch Bros. shill, Mike Pence.Every campaign team needs a logo and Trump, naturally, has his. It raised a few eyebrows, including a…
Turkey, Coup. Army Tosses Erdogan.
At long last the Turkish generals have turned on strongman Recep Erdogan.Traffic has been stopped from crossing both the Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges in Istanbul.There are reports of…
Those 28 Pages Are Finally Out.
Congress has released the 28 pages redacted from the 9/11 Commission Report. The 28-page document is a wide-ranging catalog of alleged links between Saudi officials and Qaeda operatives, from contacts…
This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things – Like Survival of Our Species
Climate change gonna getcha. Climate change gonna getcha.The Republican presidential nominee, the Orange Behemoth, Donald Trump, dismisses climate change as a hoax. He doesn't mean it, right? Wrong. He's even…
When You Seem to Have Tried Everything
They want us out of their backyards. Maybe that's a good idea. Why should we continue on with a murderous pissing contest that we cannot end?Sometimes it's best to stop…
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
AK's and Rain PonchosThe Republican convention in Cleveland is less than a week away. In choosing an Ohio venue, the GOP is taking their pow wow into an "open carry"…
A Sportscaster Gets the Final Word on the Dallas Tragedy
I've got my take on it. You've got yours. Chris Hedges has his. Sarah Palin, Ditto. But maybe it takes a TV jock to get it right, Dale Hansen.
Sanctions Time
This time it matters. The issue is the deadly business that could lurk behind China's refusal to accept the judgment of the international tribunal of The Hague over claims to…
Amerika’s Untermensch
Today they're loosely known as the Tea Party. A decade or two before that they were called White Trash. To America's founding fathers they were were called "manure" or "offscourings"…
Black Day in July
It's kind of like deja vu all over again. 1967, 49-years ago. I was just waiting to be admitted into officer school en route to flight school and, I hoped,…
Chilcot’s Freebie Lesson to Canada
As I've pored over press reports and analysis of the Chilcot report into Britain's bungled invasion of Iraq, I can't get Stephen Harper out of my mind. Had he been…
He Knew. Tony Blair Knew.
It's going to take days to digest the 2-million word Chilcot Report into the British government's decision to partner up with the Bush-Cheney regime to invade Iraq.For years Tony Blair…
Best Explanation Ever
Out here on Vancouver Island, July and August bring us incredibly clear night skies. I cherish the season, trying to set aside a half hour or more to sky gazing…
Could Scotland Block Brexit?
Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, says the UK can't leave the EU without the consent of the Scotland's parliament. Sturgeon added that the odds are slim to none of the…
Scotland Reacts
Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced there'll be a second independence referendum in the wake of yesterday's Brexit vote.
Deep Breaths. The World Didn’t End – Not Yet.
If there was ever a time to revive the iconic 1939 poster it just could be now. Then, Britain faced Hitler, the Nazi horde and six sometimes terrifying years of…