“It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism,” by journalist, lawyer, and activist Malaika Jabali, is one of those rare books that makes a dense, murky subject clear enough for laypeople — for all of us — to understand. Deftly balancing humor with erudition, Jabali unpacks the myths, lies, and propaganda that allow capitalism, despite mountains of evidence...
This past week has given us more hope for our diseased republic than any other time in 50+ years of paying attention. Observing and participating in a long-overdue peaceful uprising, occupying the streets, feeling the righteous energy of people of all ages, colors, faiths, and wealth (or lack thereof), has renewed our belief in the...
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension…is itself a frightful despotism [serving] always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot...
Those of us with “investment portfolios” — i.e., money that’s supposed to magically replicate itself without us doing anything except surviving — were elated this week when the wise elders in charge of America decided to reverse an impending stock market crash brought on by the bungled management of the Corona Virus pandemic. In less than...
We’ve consulted the elves, fairies, and ancient spirits flitting around our garden, and they’ve offered some insights into the future. We predict: + A cataclysmic environmental disaster on the scale of the 9/11 attacks, such as the entire continent of Australia going up in flames, will spark a global revolution of unprecedented size and impact,...
Here’s how: Instead of infecting young minds with mythic propaganda offered in the standard American History curriculum, texts that downplay the immorality and barbarism of our nation’s founding, expansion, and ongoing operation, we could offer future generations something much more like the truth. Instead of telling stories that celebrate slaveholders, murderers and pathological psychopaths, we...
Prior to the 2016 election, when was America truly great? What year(s)? Answering in the comment section will help us all understand the kind of country ya’ll want us to to be.
This week, many of us will enjoy a day off from work, as well as the occasion to pay reverent homage to someone we’ve been taught is a genuine hero: brave, courageous, and diligent, a man whose singular accomplishments made life for all us holiday takers possible. Grand parades will proceed down festive avenues, and...
It’s harvest season here in California. The last full moon of September has waned; while the new moon forms, thousands of perspicacious growers are hurrying to cut down their flowering bushes and trees, their cannabis indica and cannabis sativa, eager to hang the pruned plants to dry and cure. A week or so later, if it’s not...
Franklin Canyon Park, in the storied borough of Beverly Hills, has been used as a popular filming location for decades. Exterior shots for The Andy Griffith Show, Twin Peaks, On Golden Pond, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Happened One Night — all were photographed here. These days, about 25 movies are filmed in Franklin Canyon annually. Producers...
Domestic Terrorists“Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency. And the rule of law be damned.” – U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, ordering the release of a…
Telling an alternately funny and spooky story entirely through television commercials and fictional news programs, Buffet Infinity, written and directed by Simon Glassman, and performed by a cast of Canadian comic actors, had us marveling at its low-budget narrative and editorial mastery. A sly satire of overconsumption, machine-learning, and the horror genre, the film unfolds...
