Staff & Contributors

Good Old Country Love

Ed Raymond

If you really want to find out what Republicans think about Obama, just Google “The Pretty Damn Exhaustive Obama Nickname List.” I’ve been collecting comments on Obama for the years he has been in office.

Soaking The Sands, Streets, And Oceans With Blood

Ed Raymond

President Obama said at the National Prayer Breakfast not long ago that ISIS is “a brutal, vicious death cult” but had no monopoly on violence. Then he seemed to upset a whole gaggle of politicians with these truths

Is Vulture Capitalism The IED That Blew Up Democratic Capitalism?

Ed Raymond

Winnie: “The Message Is That Rising Inequality Is Dangerous And Bad For Growth And Governance”

Animals - Our Cousins

Ed Raymond

Some religious leaders say that without God there would be no morality.

Horse Apples And Constant Watering

Ed Raymond

“If his IQ slips any lower, we’ll have to water him twice a day.”

Gitmo, The Salt People, The Yanomami, The Reindeer People, And Us

Ed Raymond

So far, paleontologists say our early ancestors learned how to control fire over a million years ago. Modern man took over from the Neanderthals about 40,000 years ago if the scientists are right

The Cacophonous Cauldron Of Common Core

Ed Raymond

The whole Common Core mess reminds me of the three witches in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” tossing strange ingredients into a boiling cauldron to place charms on a man who kills to become King of Scotland

Cuba 2015 It Cudda Been Our 51st State!

Ed Raymond

A political philosopher many years back dropped this gem about Washington: “You can lead a man to Congress but you can’t make him think.”

The Architect Of Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, And Dark Sites Around The World

Ed Raymond

President George W. Bush turned the “War on Terror” over to Vice President Dick Cheney, who actually had ended up picking himself as Bush’s vice president.

So This Is A “Culture”?

Ed Raymond

What is a culture? Right-wingers like to acclaim the myth that America is an “exceptional” country—the “shining city on a hill” and all those wonderful, marvelous cultural images.

To Congress: How Do You Control 21,415 Miles Of Our International Border?

Ed Raymond

But how did thousands of illegals from all over the world, but particularly Mexico and Latin America, find out about jobs in these six plants?

The Evils Of “Religious” Politicians And The To To Be—Or Not To Be—Is A Fascinating, Tough Question

Ed Raymond

Every day we learn more about death, whether it’s from old age, disease, accident, murder, war, religion, suicide, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Evils Of “Religious” Politicians And The Growth Of Human Savagery

Ed Raymond

The Guardian columnist John Gray has written a fascinating, provocative article, “The Truth About Evil.” He argues that leaders fail to accept the fact that brutality, cruelty, and conflict are basic human traits—and flaws.

How Well Has Our Ancestor The Ape Moved To Master Of The Planet?

Ed Raymond

The midterm elections were all about who voted “with black Obama 97 percent of the time” and “we have to take the country back.” No one exactly spelled out what they were taking it back from.

The WalMart Mentality And The Billionaire Sex Trade

Ed Raymond

This country is acting as if dementia is just around the corner–or maybe we haven’t been taking our Prozac lately. We have about 19 million underemployed and unemployed in this country

Democracy For Sale: Going Once… Going Twice… Sold To The Billionaires!

Ed Raymond

The Republican Supreme Court decided to dump parts of the Voting Rights laws passed almost 50 years ago, most states controlled by Republican legislatures & governors, including North Dakota, have attempted to pass hundreds of restrictive voting laws

The Universe Guys Aren’t Even Saying “10-4’’

Ed Raymond

I wonder if aliens have visited the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, NM. Corky loves the idea of UFOs, so we had to stop.

When Do The Bricks Start Flying?

Ed Raymond

Unemployed and under-employed, idle at a West Baltimore soup kitchen or dead-ended at some strip-mall cash register—these are the excess Americans. The economy staggers along without them, and without anyone in this society truly or sincerely regard

Of Chastity Belts, Coat Hangers, And Conception

Ed Raymond

One might think that after centuries of beheadings at Taliban prayers and wretched souls burning at stakes, humans would have figured out by now that sex and religion don’t mix at all.

Is This Country Really Going To The Dogs?

Ed Raymond

Dogs can be many things, so I was rather intrigued by new research by the University of Sydney that dogs can be “distinctly” pessimistic or optimistic.

The Removal Of Heads And Another War

Ed Raymond

So far the loss of four heads (as of 9/15/14) may involve us in another war. Two journalists and a British aid worker have been decapitated by a radical Islamic fundamentalist group under the acronym of ISIL.

Modern, Bold CEO Pirates

Ed Raymond

Greed is only good for psychopaths who fear the power of unions working together to further the interests of workers. If they have the power, they can take the limo to the bank unimpeded. To paraphrase Yaeger, there are old CEOs

XX Or XY Chromosomes And/Or X Chromosome Xq28 May Lead To Some Sex

Ed Raymond

Science inexorably continues to test and overrule conventional wisdom, often based on old wive’s tales, the selective musings from the Bible, and the patriarchal foolishness of old men with or without the collars and hats of churches.

The Great American Walk-About

Ed Raymond

We are currently having a battle royal about the implementation of Common Core education standards and interminable testing, promoted by Bill Gates’s money and the political desires of both Republican and Democratic governors to control something

Of Butterflies And Human Beings

Ed Raymond

Republican education “reformers” always state that if we got rid of our bad teachers all of our students could wear the Lake Wobegon logo of “above average.” Thus, we should get rid of tenure laws, seniority policies, salary schedules based on degree

Of Butterflies And Human Beings

Ed Raymond

Students have to learn that studying the past is the first step in controlling their future. Henry Ford said, “History is bunk.” It is not. It is our life’s blood. History, including the art, music, literature, architecture, and politics of the times

Better Lucky Than Good...Or Dead

Ed Raymond

But there are a lot of things we cannot control, like solar flares from our central heat, the sun. NASA didn’t tell us that maybe a couple of billion of Earth’s passengers might have died from the effects of the biggest solar flare, called a coronal

What’s The Difference Between Anno Domini 2014 and After Ford 632?

Ed Raymond

I use Google every day. It is my dictionary, history book, encyclopedia, speller, source of breaking news, thesaurus, chronicle–and Big Brother. And it wants to be my new brave new world Controller and even bigger Big Brother in my future.

On The Interstate From Democracy To Feudalism

Ed Raymond

We are number one in the total of civilian firearms and in per capita ownership of small firearms. We top Yemen, Serbia, and Iraq. Gee, is that why we lead the civilized world in homicides and crime rate?

The Politics Of Calling Obama “Boy”

Ed Raymond

The Conservative Republican Supreme Court Says Blatant Racism Has Ended

Does The Supreme Court Know A Hawk From A Handsaw?

Ed Raymond

Religions attempt to establish permanent walls between Biblical “good and evil” while science keeps probing the universe and the living things within it to see if the walls should be breached

Earth To Supreme Court Planet: “Have A Nice Day In Corporateland!”

Ed Raymond

Free Speech: Should A Woman Getting A Legal Medical Procedure Be Forced To Listen To a Religious Nutcase Protesting This Basic Right?

Who Gave You The Zombie Heart, Dick Cheney?

Ed Raymond

Is this what happens when Cheney looks at himself in a mirror? He has many of the characteristics of the classic narcissist: lacks empathy, is arrogant, has inflated sense of self-importance

American Dreams Are Turning Into Nightmares

Ed Raymond

Evidently the ultra-rich in this country have not figured out that to maintain their wealth they must contribute to the education of all members of the society and to the maintenance of the common good.

A Popular American Bumper Sticker: “Where Are We Going? And What Am I Doing In This Hand Basket?”

Ed Raymond

One of the reasons Canadian workers now have a higher median salary than American workers is that Canadian bankers have to hold the mortgages they grant for the life of the mortgage

Pink And Blue Rifles And Pizza, Coke, Cake, And French Fries For Your Kiddies

Ed Raymond

Minnesota Republican representative John Kline, chairman of the House Education Committee, has submitted a bill to save the children, using the advice and counsel of an organization known as the School Nutrition Association.

The Three Choices Of One Percenters: Guillotine, Pitchforks, Or Pay Fair Taxes

Ed Raymond

There seems to be a lot of fat, dumb, happy elites in this country who don’t seem to realize we are beyond the beginning of another class war–and it is a world-wide WW III.

Johnny Cash, Politics, And Weaving The Handbasket To Hell

Ed Raymond

LBJ’s efforts to pass the Civil Rights Act in 1964 was predicated by his interest in solving national problems and his personal experiences with racism in Texas and Washington.

The Supreme Court, Religion, And Intended Consequences

Ed Raymond

It’s an amazing list of religions imported with their practitioners from every country in the world. We have only 35 major Christian religious denominations while 127 “New Age” and 124 “Other” religions are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service

Laboring In The Colosseums

Ed Raymond

College and university presidents have turned themselves into fund raisers and sycophants, thus letting academics slip into poverty and obscurity.

“Like Shooting A Parked Car...”

Ed Raymond

When I was a farm boy feeding corn bundles into the silage cutter, I just never considered that I was committing corn mass murder. As a teenaged farm kid, I always felt I had pretty good relationships with all the animals

Some Wear Dark Goggles While Others Wear Light Google Glasses

Ed Raymond

We live in an increasingly technologically complex world, with scientific advancements clearly outpacing the religious, educational, and intellectual capabilities of many people living in complex societies.

A Choice: Genuflecting Before The Five Pimps Of The Plutocracy–Or Pitchforks

Ed Raymond

The “conservatives” on the Supreme Court with their Citizens United and McCutcheon decisions made it possible for the 80-year old Adelson to flash his $40 billion fortune before four invited governor-puppets for the Washington slave market.

The American Gulag Archipelago

Ed Raymond

We are talking big business. The states and the federal government employ 500,000 correctional officers who make up one out of every nine government employees. New York City spends a shocking $167,000 a year on each inmate in its jails.

Will Our Revolution Take Place In The Rain?

Ed Raymond

Why Do Nine Countries Have A Higher Minimum Wage Than The Richest Country?

An Education Disaster: When Freaks Become Mainstream

Ed Raymond

Here’s a fascinating point. If Bill Gates would cash in all his assets of his world-leading $76 billion and agree to provide every qualified American student a college education for a year, he would still have $8 billion left for food, clothing,

Generals And Wars That Drive People Crazy

Ed Raymond

I served in the Marines during draft days. One thing about draftees over volunteers: they voice their limits quick. If a draftee refuses to go up a foreign hill because it serves no possible military or political purpose in his mind, he ain’t going.

To Pee, Or Not To Pee–Should That Even Be A Question?

Ed Raymond

“I knew I couldn’t hold it any longer. I would have wet my pants and I would never live it down.” I have a question: what has this country come to when a worker is denied access to a restroom?

U.S. Army Sergeant: “Are They Going To Kill Me Today?”

Ed Raymond

The best example of generals fighting the last war occurred at the battle of the Somme in WW I after the invention of the water-cooled machinegun. Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig, commander of British forces in Europe, at 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1916

Do You Have Spiders On The Wall Say Hello To You?

Ed Raymond

Humankind Has Been Using Drugs Since They Were Neanderthals