Alexei Navalny—whose body had to be almost wrested from the hands of the Russian state—was mourned by thousands during an orthodox ceremony on Friday (which several churches refused to officiate), before being borne to a nearby Moscow cemetery and finally laid to rest. Though he started his career as a nationalist in Russian politics, and … Continue reading Steam Whistle News Feed – March 1, 2024
I read an analysis in The Washington Post recently which recounted quite well, over the last ten years or so, out-and-out Republican efforts to obstruct the operation of the very government to which they were elected—discussing/passing legislation, approving judges—if it was deemed, in the end, to somehow benefit the Democratic Party. This, of course, included … Continue reading The Toxic Solution of Trumpism (February 9, 2024)
At my first ever summer church camp (I was 11 and a practicing Lutheran), I and the token skater/heavy metal kid of the lot—who used a ballpoint pen to tattoo the letters O-Z-Z-Y on his knuckles once a day—were tasked with being in charge of setting up viewing of the afternoon’s film, a sort of … Continue reading Nobody Knows History, Nobody Understands Context
Hey, Neighbor! How’s it going? Heading out for a weekend trip? Can you believe these gas prices still? Thanks a lot, Sleepy Joe, am I right? Like I always say, if a Republican were president, you know gas would be, like, five dollars a gallon cheaper. Well, because Republicans always lower gas prices. It’s, like, … Continue reading Steam Whistle News Feed – October 20, 2023
There’s a throwaway scene in the 2019 Romanian documentary Collective, where the country's new Minister of Health is watching a news show on television, and, at a podium, the mayor of Bucharest is denouncing the decision made by the administration to send patients to Vienna for transplant surgeries, and not maintain the patients in Romania … Continue reading Welcome to The Way of The World (September 22, 2023)
I know it seems like I’m doomsday picking and preaching these days—that all I want is to talk about the most general and large-scale, worst-case scenario news headlines, and then cynically and half-assedly rattle them in your face like I’m some kind of know-it-all toddler who seems to get his jollies that way. This world … Continue reading Steam Whistle News Feed – July 14, 2023
…And four more things this week. Maybe five. Or six. I don’t really know how to frame this stuff, to be honest. I think I had something, but then lost it somewhere along the way. To me, the issues represented here are glaring, but to many they're not, and I don’t know how to—nor would … Continue reading Steam Whistle News Feed – April 28, 2023