Turning Tail

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The Trump era has not been the Republican Party’s shining hour. Perhaps the most emblematic instance of Republican shamelessness occurred during last week’s January 6th hearings. At a key point during testimony, Representative Elaine Luria began describing the dangers faced by members of Congress and Vice-President Pence from rioters—as …
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Crime and Punishment

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter When Bernie Madoff, the notorious architect of one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in American history, was found guilty and sentenced to over one hundred and fifty years in prison for swindling his clients out of billions of dollars, Americans breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as …
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Helping Hands

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Since the recent—but not unexpected—Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe -v- Wade, American citizens have been scrambling to come to terms with the consequences and implications of this new and deeply disturbing ruling. The nation is reeling in shock. After all, it’s the first time that the highest …
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Blind Spot

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The January 6th Congressional Hearing has been a study in contrasts, a showcase of the best and the worst of the American psyche. At times, the hearings have been inspirational and heart-rending, but they’ve also been horrifying and embarrassing (but only in the sense that those being investigated embarrass—and …
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Foul Weather

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Over the past two weeks, our Wisconsin weather—always a wild card—has been beyond extreme. We shot up from a high of sixty-one degrees last Wednesday to a high of ninety-five on Thursday (never mind the heat index). That next night the temperature plummeted to the low sixties. This …
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Prime Time

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I’m old enough to remember when the Watergate hearings aired in May of 1973. The Senate had established the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities to uncover unlawful activities—including the Watergate break-in—during the 1972 presidential campaign. Of course, thanks to the incredible investigative reporting at the Washington Post, …
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The Ugliest Americans

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter The novel The Ugly American, by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer, was an absolute sensation when it came out in 1958. The book was a series of vignettes detailing the general contempt with which American diplomats and citizens treated indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia. The term “ugly American” originally …
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The Last Straw

Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoffrey Carter It happened again. Despite the thoughts and prayers, the demonstrations, the pleas, and the warning signs, it happened again. On May 24th, nineteen fourth graders were shot down like dogs at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, by an eighteen-year-old armed with semi-automatic weapons that he had purchased …
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Full Measure

Artwork by Michael DiMilo (Originally posted on May 31, 2019) By Geoff Carter Ah, Memorial Day: the harbinger of summer, the first family picnic, and the grill master’s opening day. Memorial Day also happens to be the holiday recognizing and honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation and Constitution. It is …
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