Brian Karem, Salon

This time around, the squeaking of a nearby crane did him in.

Guests and members of the press gathered on a cool fall afternoon in the Rose Garden Tuesday to hear President Biden talk about health care for seniors and the price of insulin.

This article first appeared in Salon.
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the first post-pandemic meeting of the General Assembly in New York this week warning that the world is in a dangerous place: more divided than ever, teetering on the edge of totalitarianism due to economic inequity and facing a mountain of problems due to climate change. "Divides are growing deeper. Inequalities are growing wider," he said. "And challenges are spreading farther."

We all know the source of the great divide in the United States: former President Donald Trump. He's the large rock thrown into the world's political ocean, causing tsunamis and ripple effects that can tear nations asunder.

God bless his pointed, dyed and empty head, he's still hard at it. A few days earlier, Trump held a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, before his faithful QAnon followers in a half-empty arena. They raised a one-finger salute to him at such an angle that for many it invited comparison to the Nazi salute. To me it looked more like something from a Three Stooges skit. And no, it wasn't "that" finger....

Comedian Kathy Griffin recently received a rash of grief for insinuating in a tweet that the Republicans want to start a civil war. But it is actual Republicans who have floated that possibility – not Griffin. So what would that entail? What would that future look like?

For those who are pondering how to use their vote this fall, it's time to take a look at what kind of future we will face should those who call themselves "Trump Patriots" succeed, either through the ballot box, violence or both.

I've seen one of those possible futures for the United States....

Comedian Kathy Griffin recently received a rash of grief for insinuating in a tweet that the Republicans want to start a civil war. But it is actual Republicans who have floated that possibility – not Griffin. So what would that entail? What would that future look like?

For those who are pondering how to use their vote this fall, it's time to take a look at what kind of future we will face should those who call themselves "Trump Patriots" succeed, either through the ballot box, violence or both.

I've seen one of those possible futures for the United States....

One afternoon in college I found myself picking up trash at a Wendy's parking lot on the Business Loop in Columbia, Missouri.

I can't remember what happened the night before — no nefarious story there.

I simply cannot remember the mundane routine of most days compared to the shock of that one. It began as a beautiful sunny day. Warm. Calm. Nice. I picked up the trash as part of my employment requirements that afternoon and glanced up to enjoy the sun. I looked toward the horizon and in the sky saw what looked like a fat dark purple line drawn by a Sharpie marker. ...