The Life in My Years

An anthology of life

Trump and MAGA; they aren’t unlike the roadkill skunk decomposing down the block that the animal control boys aren’t getting around to picking up. Festering and funky in the afternoon sun it sits there and cooks, the effluvium is never ending, 24/7/365 – for four rotten years. And there’s no escape. It’s dark on the …

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The Fourth of July. Its formal name is Independence Day, and with apologies to all the Christians out there, it should be the most revered of American holidays; more revered than Christmas and Easter. Take it from an agnostic. Traditions keep us grounded and I followed one every Independence Day. Before dawn, I would, with …

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America has reached the momentous, yet really meaningless milestone that occurs every four years; the completion of the president’s first 100 days in office. It’s an unofficial-official anniversary demanded by nothing more than tradition. Neither required by law or mandated by the Constitution, the hundredth day is when the pollsters poll, the press reports (in …

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April 27, 2025I was at a protest yesterday and one of the speakers asked the assembled crowd, “How many of you are afraid to look at the news in the morning?” The show of hundreds of hands was almost unanimous, and I imagine that those who didn’t raise their hands had them full. Almost as …

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Warning: Rough language ahead. After my recent post, I decided I needed some time away. I was poised to crack open the bottle of Polish vodka that I brought from Krakow for my son and to listen to hours of blues but I thought better of it. So I buried myself in a good book …

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16, October, 2024Munich has been dank and gloomy throughout our visit. It’s the risk the traveler runs when choosing to vacation in autumn. It’s part of the trade off; you’ll take dodging raindrops in exchange for dodging the hordes of travelers. The irony of being a traveler and wanting to avoid the hordes of my …

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This a repost of a piece written by Martin Fredericks IV, on his site, IV Words. In his piece, Martin wonders about the deafening silence following a Supreme Court decision that essentially paves the way for an American monarchy or autocracy. Two-hundred and forty-eight years ago today The Declaration of Independence was birthed, rejecting the …

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It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the six right wingnuts on the Supreme Court would pave an autobahn towards autocracy, closing out the SCOTUS session and in effect, closing out the scattered remains of democracy. The timing was both ironic and convenient. Ironic in that SCOTUS issued its decision shit canning the whole …

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Continued from An American Legacy Story Part I: Willie Rickwood (baseball) Field, Birmingham, Alabama. June 20, 2024.Baseball has been played at Rickwood since 1910, making it America’s oldest active baseball park. A baseball game will be played at Rickwood today. For over a century, thousands of baseball games have been played at Rickwood; Major League …

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“Save Democracy!!” It’s the battle cry dujour. Google, “save democracy,” and you’ll get an almost endless list of articles about throwing America’s drowning democracy a lifeline. There’s even a 10 week course on how to reboot America’s democracy. As if 10 weeks would be enough. The pundits and the hacks are all over “Saving the …

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