Speaking of being in a parallel universe, I was visiting my cardiologist when I heard him say, “Have you considered marijuana?” Was I in the Twilight Zone? No, what we dreamed of in our youth has become real. There have… Read More ›
history
TERRORISTS IN RED WHITE & BLUE
I figured it out. It took me all this time to see what has been right in front of me. Those far right-wing Republicans are not conservatives. They are not even Republicans. They are terrorists wrapped in red, white and… Read More ›
AN OUTBREAK OF PEACE – CHRISTMAS 1914
The Christmas truce (German: Waffenstillstand; French: Trêve de Noël) was a series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front during the Christmas season of 1914. During the days leading to Christmas, German and British soldiers left their trenches… Read More ›
HONORING WAR HEROES MAY BE IMMORAL – ON PRINCIPLE
Fandango’s Provocative Question #182 We spend a lot of time “honoring” war heroes. We spend zero time honoring victims of war, especially the millions of dead non-combatants whose only fault lay in “being there” when war occurred. I’m deeply weary of… Read More ›
TIMING OUT
The joy and perils of vortexes and wormholes Time travel is the ultimate addiction. When I discovered the window in my bedroom had turned into a wormhole, I was thrilled, though a bit worried. Venturing out of current time and… Read More ›
THE UNITED STATES WILL SOON BE AT AN END.
Sean Munger’s History and Culture Dispatches Are we nearing our end? For real? Nearing the end? Sean Munger thinks so. I know we can’t go on like this. This is not the country I’ve always known. We’ve set up a… Read More ›
HOW THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY ENDS by SEAN MUNGER
Nationalization, expropriation and revolutionary violence will sweep away any semblance of an “orderly” transition to renewable energy. The global warming/climate change crisis is destroying our planet and our civilization. The fix is simple to understand: the fossil fuel industry must… Read More ›
THE KOTEL
My favorite place in Jerusalem was the Western Wall, sometimes incorrectly called the “Wailing Wall.” In Hebrew, it’s Kotel — it rhymes with motel. I used to go to the Kotel to leave messages for God. We all believed messages left there… Read More ›
The day before infamy: December 6, 1941.
We all know what happened the morning after. What was Saturday, December 6, 1941 like? Sean Munger Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged the United States into World War II. I have… Read More ›
THE JONESTOWN MASSACRE’S 43rd ANNIVERSARY
Today is the 43rd anniversary of this horrible event. It appears we have not learned that slavish following of lying leaders is lethal. We should not need to learn this again but apparently, we do. Maybe we aren’t able to… Read More ›
THE JONESTOWN MASSACRE — STILL RELEVANT IN 2021
We are again approaching the anniversary of the Jonestown massacre. 43 years later, it appears we have not learned the lesson yet. Slavish following of lying leaders is deadly. We should not need to learn this again. Once should have… Read More ›
ALL TOYS PLEASE REMAIN IN THE ATTIC – GARRY ARMSTRONG
The phone rang. The caller ID flashed, showing one of Boston’s two major newspapers. I figured it was the sales department. I handed the phone to Marilyn. I heard Marilyn respond “yes” several times and was puzzled. We didn’t need… Read More ›
The Hidden Halls of the Saxon Kings
Northumberland is positively dripping with medieval history, and every period of the thousand years following the departure of the Romans around 410 AD has left its mark on the land. Some of these historical legacies, however, are far less obvious…
HOW EASY IS IT TO “FAKE” HISTORY? by SEAN MUNGER
The malleable past: How easy is it to “fake” history? – Sean Munger Denial of certain historical facts involves a misconception of what history is and how it works. On the previous incarnation of my history blog, in December 2013,… Read More ›
AFGHANISTAN: ANOTHER HISTORY LESSON FROM WHICH WE FAILED TO LEARN by SEAN MUNGER
We were doomed to fail in Afghanistan because we had no idea what we were really doing there. Yesterday, August 15, 2021, the Taliban recaptured Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, after a lightning offensive that followed the withdrawal of U.S…. Read More ›
THE FINAL DAYS OF REPUBLICAN ROME
It’s déjà vu all over again as we travel back with author Robert Harris to Republican Rome just before it became Imperial Rome. In America, we complain of corruption. Lying politicians. We fear the end of our Democracy, such as it isn’t…. Read More ›
HARD DAYS FOR A CONSCIENCE
There are a lot of things we don’t know about the people who came before us. We don’t know how or why they dressed and spoke and related to each other as people in their society. We are fuzzy about… Read More ›
ELEANOR & FRANKLIN – NO ORDINARY TIME by DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN
If I ever have to answer the question again about which person I’d like to have come visit us that answer would absolutely be Doris Kearns Goodwin. It wouldn’t even be inconvenient since she lives in or around Boston and… Read More ›
A MINI HISTORY FOR NON-AMERICANS
Like most wars, our Revolutionary War was about money and land — pretty much like every war. The money part was about taxes — especially on tea, which was very big until America discovered coffee — and who should pay… Read More ›
NO LONGER WILL THEY COME
AMERICAN SOIL IN A FOREIGN LAND – RICH PASCHALL A few years ago on V.E. Day, Armistice Day for the end of World War II in Europe, I visited the American cemetery at St. Avold. It is the final home… Read More ›
SERENDIPITY: SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 