In the early 1970s, the prison population in the United States was small and was steadily falling relative to the size of the population. Experts imagined that in a few decades, the prison system as we know it could be successfully dismantled, but that began to change after President Nixon began the War on Drugs in 1971, […]
Author Archives: S.J. Kerrigan
Obama and Romney – Gangsters for Fascism
I honestly don’t think it matters who wins the election. Like all elections in the modern era, real choices are never provided. The politicians and the media concentrate on “faux issues” designed to create the appearance of an intense debate, meanwhile the pressing issues of our times are decided by connected elites behind closed doors. […]
The King of Ruffle Bar and the Insanity of Bureaucracy
In anthropologist Edward Hall’s 1976 book Beyond Culture, he describes a story of a wild dog that lived on the small, otherwise uninhabited island of Ruffle Bar, which is just off the coast of Brooklyn and Long Island. The dog, nicknamed “The King of Ruffle Bar,” seemed to be in good health and had sustained […]
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Tagged Civil Liberties, Justice System, Law Enforcement, Social Criticism
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A Few Thoughts on Ryan & the Catholic Church
Normally, I prefer not to comment on the traditional political discourse, mostly because these days, politicians are all the same. The two parties ultimately serve the same “Washington Consensus,” that is, corporate interests who in turn control the money power. Political personalities like Obama and Romney only look radically different because they argue very intensely […]
Strip Searching Innocent Victims in the ‘Land of the Free’
Last July, Leila Tarantino, a citizen of Citrus County, Florida, was driving with her two children. According to a lawsuit she filed with the district court last week, Tarantino says she made a full stop at a stop sign, but was pulled over by police anyway. She was held in the back of a police […]
There’s No Conflict of Interest Here You Idiots
In an article titled “GOP Senate Nominee Would Profit From Government Default“ Talking Points Memo reports that Ohio Senate nominee Josh Mandel has a short position on US Treasury bills. The candidate’s stated position is to “stop raising the debt ceiling.” The site argues that if the debt ceiling is not raised, the US would […]
Prepare for Stark and Total Privatization at Penn State and Beyond
This is a repost from Greg Plefka, reprinted with permission from the blog VulgarTrader.com where he is a contributor and editor. Here, he discusses the link between the pedophilia scandal at Penn State, school privatization and the destruction of the college system as we know it.
Libor Humor
Courtesy of comedians John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, some comedic commentary on the Libor scandal. Accurate and humorous, they state: “I cannot afford my brain to be distracted for a second by the lingering suspicion that our entire society is based on greed fueled financial trickery and economic larceny on a mathematically unfathomable scale.” That’s it, […]
David Stockman: We Will Suffer One Crisis After Another
We hear a lot these days that due to high levels of sovereign and private debt, we will be unable to avoid a massive financial collapse, reshaping the world as we know it. Usually, proponents argue the collapse will happen quickly, bringing about a short term political vacuum and by necessity, a new economic model. Odd as […]
Christopher Nolan’s Batman as Social Criticism (Part 2)
This is part 2 of 2. For part 1, click here. If the primary theme of the new Batman movies could be boiled down to one word, it would be fascism. Clearly, all superhero movies have fascist elements in them. They feature superhuman beings who through force of will and personal strength are capable of beating back otherwise […]