Volume 268 | No. 8

Mon, Jan 1

2006—Speaking to amputee vets of his Iraq War, George W.[MD] Bush says “I have an injury myself [from] combat with a cedar. I eventually won.” 1994—NAFTA screws unions, farmers, and the environment, but the Zapatistas stand up to fight back. 1975—Nixon cronies H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and John Mitchell are convicted of felonies. 1959—Castro’s commies take Cuba. 1945—Secret mission is kept too secret: German troops mistakenly shoot down 300 German planes. It’s the Luftwaffe’s worst day of the war. 1880—Elmer J. McCurdy is born in Washington, Maine. A bank and train robber until 1911 he changes careers, becoming a sideshow attraction and movie prop after …

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Hope-ey New Year… ?

What a predicament. With only a few hours left in this year, there’s no way it can be salvaged. What’s done is done. And look what’s coming! Based on past performance, what are the odds of getting through this coming year intact? [Intact? You call our current state of affairs intact? That’s a laugh!] It’s not easy, being the last freestanding print publication with the freedom to face reality with the blinders off. We’re not complaining, mind you. We volunteered for this job. Hell, we stole this job. [Long story, no room for it here.] We’re just pointing out that it’s a challenge. How does …

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“To Be Sold: a Negro Man”

On Christmas Day, 1773, we published the advertisement seen below, alerting readers of their opportunity to purchase “a Negro Man.” This ad, and others like it, helped our founder, Daniel Fowle, stay in business. We were reminded of this by Monday’s tweet from The Adverts 250 Project [adverts250project.org], which bills itself as “An Exploration of Advertising During the Era of the American Revolution, 250 Years Ago This Week.” This abhorrent practice was routine at the time. Most papers did it. On the day this ad appeared, the South Carolina and American General Gazette [1758 – 1782] published 21 ads related to the trade in people: …

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Let’s Get Real

by W.D. Ehrhart Yes, the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th was unspeakably brutal, inhumane, merciless, without a shred of mitigation. War crimes were committed, crimes against humanity. There is no way to justify or excuse what happened that day to thousands of innocent civilians, some 1,200 murdered, another 240 kidnapped, countless others forever traumatized. Meanwhile, between October 7th and the day I’m writing this (December 18th), NBC News reports almost 20,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military in response to October 7th, 70 per cent of them women and children. The Israeli military admits to accidentally killing three of the hostages …

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A Few Damn Good Questions

Dear Editor, From the Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph 7: “Judgement in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Judgement, and Punishment, according to the Law.” Convicted or not by the Senate, the operative phrase, written in plain English, is… SHALL nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, etc.…” Senator Mitch McConnell, one day after the Senate failed to convict the Barking Yam in his second …

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