An authoritarian has been toppled in Hungary. The rise and fall of Viktor Orban should provide a lesson for nations in the grip of authoritarians, and those struggling with creeping authoritarianism. And that especially goes for the United States. Viktor Orban was in power for sixteen consecutive years. His total stay in power was twenty …
“I was in cities, you know, of, you know, fifty to a hundred thousand in Iraq surrounded by insurgents. And we Marines, well trained Marines, did not act the way that they’re doing, the way they’re treating other fellow Americans right now.” “They’re using tactics that, you know, we didn’t even use in Iraq in …
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 …
“Tin soldiers and Nixon comingWe’re finally on our ownThis summer I hear the drummingFour dead in Ohio” “Four dead in Ohio” were the first words that came to mind when I heard that Donald Trump, on the evening of June 7th, had federalized 2,000 California National Guard soldiers in response to protests against ICE raids …
May 5, 2025It ‘s Cinco de Mayo and I suspect that, unlike St. Patrick’s Day, when many people, Irish or not, hoist a mug of green beer and proclaim that “today everyone’s Irish,” there are more than a few white American folk who, after downing a few tequila shots, stop well short of proclaiming “today …
“Mayday” is an internationally recognized distress call used by pilots and maritime crews over radio communications in cases of extreme emergency where life or the aircraft or vessel is in immediate danger. When repeated three times in succession it is a call for urgent assistance. May Day (also known as International Workers Day), the annual …
“Modern Hungary is not just a model for conservative statecraft, but the model. Americans, Brits, Spaniards, Australians—everyone—can and should learn from it.” Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, The Hungarian Conservative, December 2022. With his engaging kindly smile, the shortish, stocky fellow with his silver/white hair parted down the middle could be any child’s …
The second of two parts about the Trump Administration’s assault on the First Amendment. “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” ~ Alexander Butcher, 2016 winner of the Orwell Youth Prize. It’s a mostly innocuous op-ed, but it got flagged as being …
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 …
“That’s not who we are,” said the politician. It may have been a member of Congress, a governor or a local sheriff. Certainly I’ve heard Barack Obama say it. “That’s not who we are.” That statement of denial, a far too late attempt to pick up the shattered and scattered pieces of our national reputation, …
The Life in My Years 