When I was eight, however, all I really knew for sure was that I didn’t like any of [the Rice family.] That and I was completely terrified of Mr. Rice, even before the afternoon when he pulled his gun on me, and pressed its barrel to my temple.
Month: February 2016
A Heretic’s Pilgrimage: My Journey to the 2012 Values Voter Summit
The question I find myself asking more and more these days is this: Can the GOP moderates keep the party from completely succumbing to its far-right Christian base? And if not — if the men and women at the Values Voter Summit will indeed drive the Republican Party for the next decade or two –- what will that party look like? I have come to see for myself.
Continue reading “A Heretic’s Pilgrimage: My Journey to the 2012 Values Voter Summit”
The Henchman’s Diary
First off, let me just say the costume was a huge disappointment. I’ve seen bats at Gotham Zoo, and this guy looked nothing – nothing! – like a bat. He looked more like a weird S&M character, which makes you wonder exactly what kind of people the city is being run by if they’re working with a guy dressed like this. A pretty sad commentary, really. Totally unprofessional.
Broken Elephants, Part II: Ben Carson, Frank Gaffney, and The Way to Make Your Mark in Today’s GOP
This raises something of a puzzle. It’s easy to understand why a cable television network or a radio station would choose ratings over a Republican in the Oval Office. It’s quite a bit less obvious why an actual candidate for that same office would choose such a path. This is only puzzling, however, if you assume that the reason all of the GOP candidates are running is that they actually wish to be President. Continue reading “Broken Elephants, Part II: Ben Carson, Frank Gaffney, and The Way to Make Your Mark in Today’s GOP”
The Second Second Date Story
It is their second date, and already she loves his imperfect hand.
The Swan Song of the Oompa Loompa
“We went on strike only once, and the Pinkertons made sure we quickly buckled. I can still remember the site of them charging, sticks in hand. Tall and hard, they towered over most normals. We barely came up to their knees.”
Oregon’s Church for Sex Offenders
Indeed, these people are about as ordinary a slice of traditional Americana as one can hope to stumble across in 2015: a small, All-American community of All-American neighbors getting together to share All-American food, sing the praises of Jesus, and share the weight of the various challenges that face today’s modern American registered sex offender.
The Masculine Mystique
“I don’t mind telling you,” he says, “I am no longer here to debate, or to reason, or to converse, or to hope you may be reached by logic or evidence. I AM HERE TO F–K YOUR SHIT UP.”
Would You Pay $100 for a Hug?
Staring at the stenciled moon and stars mural on the wall I sense the weight of Hess on the bed as she lies down beside me before I feel a strange leg drape over mine and fingertips lightly caress my back. And I find that I am asking myself the same question that I imagine every client of a professional cuddler asks themselves when they first find themselves in bed being lovingly embraced by a fully dressed stranger: How the hell did I get myself into this?
America Indentured, Part I
In fact, to one degree or another, the United States or its citizens have been involved in some form of this type of indentured servitude on a pretty regular basis for at least the past several decades… They are allowed to continue for surprisingly long periods of time, and rarely are they done underground or hidden by conspiracy. Indeed, they are likely to be well-known to legislators, government regulators, and bureaucrats alike, and also part of the public record. When they are eventually stopped — if they are eventually stopped — there is little if any punishment doled out to the perpetrators.
R. Tod Kelly 