Kirk Swearingen, Salon

In any negotiation to stop Vladimir Putin's unprovoked terror war against the Ukrainian people, may we add one small demand — that he open his borders to anti-Americans here at home?

This article first appeared in Salon.

I think he would be good with that....

Let me make this short, and I hope, sweet. I'm addressing all the true patriots out there. You know who you are.

About that dicey Ukraine situation: What if Vladimir Putin could be mollified by gaining his own NATO-like foothold next to the United States? Like, right next to it. Or sort of inside it.

Heck, so many Republicans think of him as a great white, er, powerful leader — as opposed to those socialist, secular, pluralistic (sorry, I know that word is hate speech for some of you) Demoncrat presidents, like "let's go Brandon" and Barack Hussein Obama. So why don't we allow a Russian-led military alliance to incorporate certain selected parts of America — say, large swathes of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi? You know, our already-red territory....

Some Republicans have dialed up the hyperbole to express their indignation about President Biden's vaccine mandates. Here are two tweets from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster:

The American Dream has turned into a nightmare under President Biden and the radical Democrats. They have declared war against capitalism, thumbed their noses at the Constitution, and empowered our enemies abroad.
Rest assured, we will fight them to the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian."

Hearing Republican politicians speak about the American dream while voting against a livable minimum wage and undermining unions and consumer protection, is always, well, a little rich.

This article first appeared in Salon.
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As the Republican Party continues on its march toward fascism, it's easy to find yourself making political connections — even when you are trying your best not to think about politics.

This article first appeared in Salon.

Recently I was reading about astrophysics (understanding only an infinitesimal amount) and saw the Republican Party's implosion into Trumpism as akin to the formation of a black hole in space, where truth (instead of light) is unable to escape the event horizon....

It has been said that when fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.

This well-known line has been attributed to a number of people — most often to novelist Sinclair Lewis, but also to socialist leader Eugene V. Debs and even to populist Louisiana senator Huey Long — but none of them wrote or said it in precisely the way it has come down to us. It appears to be an aphoristic stone nicely polished by being handled by a lot of people.

To have it reflect our current situation, we need to roughen it up....