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Gunny Advances in Another Direction

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Wednesday, January 5, 2011 — For nearly a quarter of a century R. Lee Ermey has been the unannointed poet laureate of the vernacular branch of America’s military language. (The bureaucratic branch, appropriately, has no face). Breathtakingly obscene, surrealistically violent, and apparently inexhaustible, Ermey’s portrayal of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, in Full Metal Jacket, threw moviegoers unaquainted with military manners right back in their seats. For those with military experience, particularly of the period being portrayed, Ermey’s performance carried an additional levels of richness and meaning. The role of drill instructor in the U.S. military may always have held an element of self-parody. In Ermey’s performance, …

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So Far, So Good

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Sunday, January 2, 2011 — Thirty-six hours into the New Year, and we’re still here. At our age, that’s something. We’re going to begin the year with a little experiment. We’ve got a “page in the cloud” going right here, open to whatever shenanigans the casual passerby might like to engage in. If anything happens there, we’ll provide updates here. UPDATE: 9:16 PM: Aha! Success! A reader has left this message on our “page in the cloud”: “Great paper!!! Happy New Year!! Keep up the great work. Need to get the word out this way. Bud, in Kingston, NH.” Take a look at our “page …

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There are Chambers, and then there are Chambers

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News Briefs for December 31, 2010, from The New Hampshire Gazette, Volume 255, No. 7, posted on Monday, January 17, 2011. The concluding portion of this fortnight’s Rant discusses the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s central but unadvertised role in initiating the Right Wing’s propaganda war almost forty years ago. While that sordid story can be readily found by anyone who looks for it, relatively few Americans are likely to be aware of it. In more recent years, though, the U.S. Chamber has been far less bashful about its pro-oligarchy agenda.* As a result of its increasingly thuggish behavior, the national Chamber has finally begun to …

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Iconic Marine Sets Career on Fire

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Wednesday, December 29, 2010 — Why, the casual visitor might ask, has it been so long since we’ve posted here? Well, we’ve been waiting for something as juicy as this, that’s why: videotape of Geico Insurance spokesperson R. Lee Ermey setting his career on fire in front of a live audience. We discovered this while perusing Reddit just now. We should have been wrapping up our latest outrage, which is due at the printer’s in less than 19 hours. What can we say? We’re bad. Here’s a link to the original post at Windy City Watch, or just click on the picture above for the …

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Tell It, Bernie!

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News Briefs for December 17, 2010, from The New Hampshire Gazette, Volume 255, No. 6, posted on Saturday, January 15, 2011. The damnedest things have been happening on the floor of the U.S. Senate — people are telling the truth. Well, one person is. On November 30th Bernie Sanders stood up and delivered an 1,875 word parcel of that rare commodity. “There is a war going on in this country,” said the Senator from Vermont, “and I am not referring to the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am talking about a war being waged by some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in …

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Senator Sanders Filibusters

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Friday, December 10, 2010 — Sen. Bernie Sanders is now (5:25 p.m.) filibustering against tax cuts for millionaires. He is reading letters from his constituents. Their letters explain that they are cold and hungry. Chris Cilizza wants to know whether the Senator is wasting time. Click here or on the image below to answer his question. Once you’ve voted, watch a U.S. Senator do something truly inspiring.