Anyone who studies even elementary psychology knows that many times the bully had been bullied as a child. The sexual abuser had been sexually abused as a child. Remember the sordid tales of all those Catholic Priests ( read Jimmy Breslin’s fine book The Church That Forgot Christ ) who sexually abused young boys?

One wonders how many of those innocent victims later on became sexual abusers themselves. Trauma is a terrible thing to experience. As individuals have to deal with trauma, so do societies i.e.: cultures and even nations. Continue reading →

My letter to the New York Review of Books:

Dear Editor,

As a subscriber and avid fan of The New York Review of Books, I was both dismayed and disappointed by Michael Massing’s review of Thomas Ricks’ new book The Gamble.

I have read many articles by Michael Massing in the past, and I think he is ‘right on’ almost each time. This review, however, caused me much consternation. Continue reading →

The irony regarding conspiracy theories is that, for the most part, they do have more than a grain of truth in each of them. What comes to mind is the 1950s film Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Who could forget Kevin McCarthy running up the interstate, sweat pouring from his brow, screaming ‘They’re here!’

Of course, that film was supposed to be about the ‘invasion’ of the Commies , pods that would take over our very souls….. Leaving us with no emotions, no character…. All of us becoming one big nation of nothingness. Yet, as dear old Kevin ran up that interstate, and another truckload of pods passed him by, few if any would believe him. He was…… A …… Conspiracy nut! Continue reading →

After four plus years of doing virtually the same thing, with little result, one may ask oneself ”Why?’

You see, each Tuesday, for one hour during rush hour, I go, with but a handful of others, and I stand on a busy street corner in my town.  We stand to publicize our dissent of many things, primarily the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Continue reading →

Dear Mr. President,

Shakespeare said it best: ” The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars….. But in ourselves.”

The fault, Mr. President, in our present situation, is ‘ not in our stars… But in our stripes.’

The American stars are something to be proud of, sir. Represented by the stars on our flag, they stand for truth and justice for all. It seems to me, that the stripes that are represented on our flag, now stand for the stripes worn by our detainees , and for the stripes that we force other nations to wear when we dominate them. Continue reading →

Dear Mr. President,

I know, as almost all Americans, that you had absolutely nothing to do with the use of torture by our government. I would hope that you, and all Americans, would take the time to view the many documentaries regarding our government’s torture of detainees .

No, let me go one step further, before the ‘apologists ‘chime in with the ‘few bad apples ‘argument. It is known, by many investigative accounts, that the very highest levels of the Bush administration, right up to the President, Vice President and Secretary of Defense, either ordered or allowed torture. Continue reading →

A letter to my local county prosecutor

Dear John,

I live in this area. I am asking you, as county prosecutor,  to go forward with the process to hold both George Bush and Dick Cheney criminally responsible for the illegal attack on Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of over 4000 of our soldiers and countless Iraqi civilians. It is time that we, as citizens, do what even our new President Obama stated in his press conference: ” No One is above the law… ”

Please contact Mr. Vincent Bugliosi for information on what you could and should be doing to bring justice to these men.

Remember the famous quote: “Let justice prevail … or may the heavens fall! “