Category Archives: National Politics

Welcome Back. Honestly.

Posted on August 10, 2020 by admin

An old tome fell out of the bookshelf while I cruised through titles searching, ironically, for something new to teach this fall: Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, by Sissela Bok. Bok’s premise is that we are all … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, National Politics, Politics | 4 Comments

F–cking Winning

Posted on January 24, 2020 by admin

Donald Trump guaranteed himself the presidency by winning Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016. Democrats will certainly double and treble their efforts in those states next year, but may be hampered by a crucial twenty-first century conundrum: how to we … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, National Politics | 14 Comments

Staying Engaged

Posted on January 23, 2020 by admin

The first day of Pres. Trump’s impeachment trial drew approximately 11 million viewers, which is slightly less than a third the number of viewers of an NFL playoff game the night before. Neither contest featured a scintilla of drama. No … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, National Politics | 9 Comments

What’s in a Joke?

Posted on October 16, 2019 by admin

While watching last weekend’s cold open for Saturday Night Live, I found myself wondering how funny the show would be if it couldn’t rely on satirizing politicians. The episode provided a running answer to that question. From the “Oscar the … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, National Politics | 9 Comments

ICE Raids in Mississippi

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Thomas_Easterling

“Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I’ll piss on ’emthat’s what the Statue of Bigotry says” Lou Reed, Dirty Boulevard Earlier this week, as most Mississippi families found themselves consumed by the excitement and anxiety of going back … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National Politics, Race in Mississippi | 9 Comments

Pennywise and Pound Foolish

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Thomas_Easterling

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently presented a budget to Congress that would eliminate funding for Special Olympics. “We had to make some difficult decisions with this budget,” she told legislators recently. She added that the success of the Special … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Education, National Politics | 20 Comments

A Quick Reminder; Callout Culture

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Thomas_Easterling

As tempting as it may be to blog during class, I consider it bad form. Also, unless you’re highly proficient at multi-tasking, you’re not really getting the material being covered while you blog. On to another topic: callout culture, which … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, National Politics, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Objets d’Art and Objects

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Thomas_Easterling

Roman Polanski cannot return to the United States because he pled guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, but skipped bail instead of serving his sentence. Bryan Singer has been accused of assaulting prospective actors and other under-aged men. Harvey … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Gender Issues, National Politics | 31 Comments

#Metoo meanderings

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

Last week’s Kavanaugh hearings ripped the band-aid off the sores of senatorial civility. Writers for the cold open for Saturday Night Live didn’t have to modify transcripts of the hearings much to get thirteen minutes of material. It was hard … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Gender Issues, National Politics, Politics | 14 Comments

Freedom From What?

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Thomas_Easterling

As a recovering journalist, I’ve often embraced the notion that if you’re not pissing people off, you’re probably not doing your job. Newspapers and news networks must ferret out uncomfortable truths, present them objectively, and allow our democratic processes to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Education, National Politics | 21 Comments