Category Archives: Culture

Rhetoric and Political Violence

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Joe Benning

On January 8, 2011 a mentally disturbed man named Jared Lee Loughner shot 18 people, killing 6. Those wounded included Representative Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat, who represented Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Loughner, diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic was initially found, … Continue reading →

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Commencement Season

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Joe Benning

The season is upon us when the good and great serve up the traditional pabulum to young graduates about the importance of following their dreams. And right on cue Hillary Clinton arrived to deliver the commencement address at Wellesley College. … Continue reading →

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Somebody is Lying

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Joe Benning

One of the most pernicious notions that has taken hold in modern pop culture is the Nietzschean claim, echoed by the post-modernists, that there are no facts, only interpretations. And since there is no such thing as truth, there is … Continue reading →

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Conservatives Have Some Explaining to Do

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Joe Benning

  Going on 4 months since the Inauguration, self-professed conservatives who backed Trump for the Presidency have a lot of explaining to do. To say that Hillary Clinton was and is a menace to liberty (not to mention decency) while … Continue reading →

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The Resistance Continues

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Joe Benning

For lots of very good reasons, not the least of which is that he is—let us face it—an ignoramus, an awful lot of people find Donald Trump’s election to be simply unpalatable. Within this group are two distinct camps. There … Continue reading →

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Devin Nunes Weighs In

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Joe Benning

Devin Nunes, a Republican, a Trump supporter and Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee previously said (and continues to say) that he doesn’t see any evidence that Trump Tower was wiretapped by the Obama Administration. There appears to be unanimity … Continue reading →

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“Silence” by Martin Scorsese

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Joe Benning

Martin Scorsese’s Silence is a complicated film. Based on a novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo, it tells the story of 2 Jesuit priests in the 17th century who set out for Japan to find their mentor, Father … Continue reading →

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Fake News

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Joe Benning

The latest battle cry being test marketed by enemies of free speech is “Fake News”. It is the perfect bumper sticker slogan because the phrase is entirely devoid of substantive meaning, and it is sure to get partisan blood boiling. … Continue reading →

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So Long 2016, Hello 2017

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Joe Benning

Well, it’s been quite a year. A lot of improbable things happened in 2016, not the least of which was the election of His Majesty King Donald the 1st as the 45th President of the U.S. It may be difficult … Continue reading →

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A Very Costly “Victory”

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Joe Benning

President-elect Donald J. Trump, joined by some formerly free-market Republicans, is engaged in an exercise of self-congratulations for successfully stopping Carrier Corporation from moving some of its production facilities to Mexico. The claim is made that this “saved 1,000 American … Continue reading →

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