I’m writing this note after reading a New York Times piece and reader’s thread about Trump’s suggestion to combat coronavirus by “injecting” a form of bleach as a sort of "cleansing” (which he has now walked back to supposedly being “sarcastic,” although that seems worse than sincerity). I noticed on cable TV as the story … Continue reading Injecting Bleach or Ingesting Beach—Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Month: April 2020
The Death of My Old Hometown: Sucking Out the Wealth, Filling the Gap with Fecal Pollution
Last summer, on a road trip from Minneapolis to Kansas City, I passed through a town in Iowa where I lived from age two to five. Here is a picture. I have limited memories from these years, and most of them are filtered through home movies that I watched later or stories my father told … Continue reading The Death of My Old Hometown: Sucking Out the Wealth, Filling the Gap with Fecal Pollution
Coronavirus and the Shock Doctrine
Without strong Democratic leadership, without mass protest, and with the economy so disrupted that I become confused as to how strikes could work, how do we fight for what we need? I have been distracted lately, like many others I know. But my main anxiety is not about immediate effects of the coronavirus, in its … Continue reading Coronavirus and the Shock Doctrine
Rest in Peace, John Prine
This is probably my favorite of all the John Prine songs. It is the best one I can think of to capture how sad I feel about losing him—one of the greatest songwriters of my lifetime. MBE standard notice: The time I spend on this blog is not in addition to a Twitter and … Continue reading Rest in Peace, John Prine
Speaking Hard Truths
I don’t often recirculating comments from others here. But sometimes I make an exception, and I will do so for this interview with Noam Chomsky on Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now. https://www.democracynow.org/2020/4/10/noam_chomsky_trump_us_coronavirus_response I do not have much to add. But if you are celebrating Easter or Passover, may I recommend that you make this part of … Continue reading Speaking Hard Truths
Positive Thinking as a Toxin
Imagine that a shark has a fish literally inside its jaws, but cannot bite down. Prayer is like that. It is like a “toxin” that makes you “invisible” to coronavirus. These are sermon illustrations that Joel Osteen, one of the most influential preachers in the country, broadcast in the midst of the pandemic. I know … Continue reading Positive Thinking as a Toxin
MBE: Mark's blogging experiment 