On the Road Again – By Glynn Wilson – CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Everyone thought the Republican National Convention had moved from here to Jacksonville, Florida and was then canceled and moved to Washington, D.C., so no one was quite prepared for what happened Monday. We got word over the weekend that some Republican delegates were…
Will the Right Wing Militia Let Him Get Away With It? – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – It was December 6, 2017, and we were breaking news from Mobile, Alabama, when we found out tea party hero Steve Bannon was coming to Fairhope across the bay to campaign for the Ten Commandments…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – Sitting here in the Appalachian mountains watching the sunset, thinking about our modern communications dilemma, I feel like I’m surrounded by people who are so uninformed about reality that they resemble the chained up prisoners in Plato’s cave. If you’ve never heard the story, watch the video…
By Robert Reich – Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos is heading the administration’s effort to force schools to reopen in the fall for in-person instruction. What’s her plan to reopen safely? She doesn’t have one. Rather than seeking additional federal funds, she’s using this pandemic to further her ploy to privatize education — threatening to…
A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand – “We came out here to find the American Dream, and now that we’re right in the vortex you want to quit … You must realize that we’ve found the main nerve.” I know,” he said. “That’s what gives me the Fear.” – Hunter S. Thompson “By disgracing…
By Robert Reich – Senate Republicans’ shameful priorities are on full display as the nation continues to grapple with an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Mitch McConnell and the GOP refuse to take up the HEROES Act, passed by the House in early May to help Americans survive the pandemic and fortify the upcoming election.…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – What America needs is another Seabiscuit. What lifted the United States out of the Great Depression in the late 1930s? Was it government spending on the Civilian Conservation Corps that hired out of work laborers to build the national parks and other government programs? Was it a…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – It’s not clear whether the predominant view of the universe is that life imitates art, or if more people think art imitates life. There’s not been a Gallup poll on that, far as I know. Chances are it’s both anyway. But for the sake of argument on…
By Robert Reich – Some societies center on social control, others on social investment. Social-control societies put substantial resources into police, prisons, surveillance, immigration enforcement, and the military. Their purpose is to utilize fear, punishment, and violence to divide people and keep the status quo in place — perpetuating the systemic oppression of Black and…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – In discussing death, people often talk about someone’s “untimely death” when a person dies relatively young and suddenly. Civil Rights hero and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis was not young and his death was not sudden. He was 80 when he died on Friday from pancreatic cancer, which…
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – How is it possible in the United States of America that a corrupt New York real estate developer who conned his way into the White House keeps us living in…
By Robert Reich – Donald Trump said last Thursday’s jobs report, which showed an uptick in June, proves the economy is “roaring backâ€. Rubbish. The Labor Department gathered the data during the week of June 12, when America was reporting 25,000 new cases of Covid-19 per day. By the time the report was issued last…
Fourth of July 2020 – “THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we…
By Steny H. Hoyer – U.S. House Majority Leader – Problems encountered by voters in recent primary elections continue to present a warning to all Americans ahead of our general election in November. Many voters — particularly minority voters — have waited hours at their polling locations or were turned away outright. Thousands who requested…
The Big Picture -Â By Glynn Wilson -Â In these times of heightened existential anxiety, when disasters and crises seem to be assaulting the planet, the country and the human psyche in end-times proportions, where are we to turn for solace? Many human beings will turn to their version of a god, prayer and worship.…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, N.C. — We don’t have much time. It’s addicting in our newly evolved human condition to stay focused on the fast breaking news of the moment, the sensational clickbait. From day to day, we bounce back and forth from one crisis story to another.…
In Union there is Strength – “A house divided against itself, cannot stand.” — Abraham Lincoln The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, N.C. — Why can’t I just wake up on one beautiful spring Sunday morning in America and see beyond the view of the mountains a scene of peace,…
Let us open with a song. Oh, little Jeff Sessions It’s a mystery how you made it this far The devil messes with God’s best-laid plans You prayed and gave the country Donald Trump Then he dumped you in a Mobile trash heap You get no spare change It must feel mighty strange To say…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, N.C. – In all my travels, with the exception of Yellowstone, this view looking west toward Mount Mitchell is the best spot I’ve found. In some ways, however, it inspires sitting in a comfortable camp chair, staring off into space and doing nothing. But…
Even While Social Distancing Apart“Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses.” – Buddhist Proverb The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, N.C. — The polar vortex swooped down into the Southland this Mother’s Day weekend and not only froze the…
