I first corresponded with Alex Cockburn in 1986. An article of mine titled, “South Africa, Anti-communism, and Value-Free Science” had appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education and created a stir. One of the irate letter writers was Sidney Hook, the philosopher and former Marxist turned ardent right-winger. Among other things, Hook said that he [...]… | more |
The title of this post refers to the Huddie Leadbetter song, made famous by Pete Seeger and the Weavers. My mother never liked it, but only because she got teased, since Irene is her name. It seems a fitting title, though. She died on July 10, 2012 in a horrible accident, and now, all I [...]… | more |
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been an “Anti-Labor Leftist”?
The recent defeat of the Scott Walker recall in Wisconsin, an election in which Walker soundly defeated the same Democratic challenger who ran against him when he became governor in 2010, has generated much discussion. Why was the Wisconsin Uprising of early 2011, where hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites took to the streets and occupied [...]… | more |
I have written about Moab, Utah many times. The natural beauty of the region around the town astounds the senses: two national parks (Arches and Canyonlands), innumerable canyons, the La Sal Mountains, petroglyphs, pictographs, and the Colorado River. A paradise for hikers, rock climbers, rafters, bicyclists, and rock art lovers. Unfortunately, commercial interests, always [...]… | more |
Wage Slaves in Our National Parks
This past January, twenty-seven year old Ryan Hiller died when a tree fell on his tent cabin during a storm at Yosemite National Park. Tent cabins are structures with concrete flooring and walls, canvas roofs, beds, a dresser, but no cooking or toilet facilities. They are meant for overnight visitors who don’t want to pitch [...]… | more |
Poisoning People in Apollo: All in a Day’s Work
Apollo is a small town in western Pennsylvania, part of the old coal and steel belt that surrounds Pittsburgh. The shallow Kiskiminitas River, a tributary of the Allegheny, flows through the borough. Although it is close to my hometown, I never knew much about it, except that my artist uncle once made a glass carving [...]… | more |
The National Parks Were Made for You and Me
Arches National Park in Utah is a jumble of strange and beautiful rocks, spires, arches, and fins. The more times you come here, the more amazing wonders you might find: a fifty-feet long natural rock tunnel, nearly 2,000 arches, groves of cottonwoods in washes, springs, unusual canyons, beaver, turkeys, wildflowers, and petroglyphs. Most people who [...]… | more |
Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate is going on vacation for awhile. I’ve run out of things to say. Thanks for reading.… | more |
Whoopee! We’re All Gonna Die (Working)
We were in a Wal-Mart in Richfield, Utah. The greeters at the door were an elderly man and woman. Both were in wheelchairs. At a grocery store in Colorado, an old man bagging groceries was so bent over that he could barely look up. In our travels, we have begun to notice a new phenomenon: [...]… | more |
It’s Still Slavery by Another Name
Right-wingers like Fox’s Bill O’Reilly are fond of saying that whites don’t have a monopoly on racism. Some black people hate whites, so they are racist too. Whites must stop being racist, but so must blacks. The implication of this way of thinking is that racism evens out in the end. It is seen as [...]… | more |