Outlook from the Outskirts

A Kindergartner's Take on That Dark Time, 50 Years Ago

2026-04-25T07:59:00.000-04:00

Folks often ask the question, "do you remember where you were and what you were doing?" when they recall momentous, and often infamous historical dates during their lives. Today, we observe the 50th anniversary of that terrible day in Dallas, Texas, where President John F. Kennedy was gunned down during the prime of his life. Since I was a 6-year-old kid back then, I believe that I may be one of the youngest persons alive who can actually recall that time. Most anyone who was younger than five or six back when JFK was assassinated is unlikely, I believe, to have any memory of it.

During the fall of 1963, I had entered Kindergarten at a suburban St. Louis grade school where I went to school for just half the day in the morning. So on that infamous Friday 50 years ago, I had apparently just gotten home from school when the shots rang out. I don't recall what I was doing when it actually happened, but I do remember my mother being very upset later that afternoon when she told my older brothers upon returning home from their schools that President Kennedy had been assassinated. I wasn't sure what that word meant, but I knew it was something really awful because when she said it, she was crying. (By the way, a family friend took the photo of me displayed on the right on Thanksgiving Day in 1963, which was less than a week after the assassination.)

Perhaps, it's more accurate to state that I recall the events during the immediate aftermath of Kennedy's death, than the actual, horrific deed itself. Many historians believe that JFK's assassination ushered in the age of television news. Fifty years ago, three broadcast networks basically dominated television, and all three, CBS, NBC and ABC, were giving this story wall-to-wall news coverage. As a result, my next memory of that time came on the following Sunday (November 24). While televised live before a national audience, JFK's accused killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, was fatally shot while police were transferring him to the county jail. I can remember vividly my mother shrieking in horror as my family and I watched this attack unfold before our eyes on our black-and-white TV.

The next day, November 25, 1963, I can remember watching the wall-to-wall coverage of the funeral procession, where a riderless horse was pulling a carriage holding JFK's flag-draped coffin to Arlington National Cemetery. I remember wondering what kind a man was Kennedy at the time. After watching John-John's iconic salute to his father's coffin, I began wondering about his kids who were about the same age as me. I wondered if they were sad as the concept of death was still pretty new to me.

The Kennedy assassination had a profound impact on me. Beforehand, all I knew was basically my family, my school, and my dog. But afterwards, my concept of the world increased exponentially. For the first time, I discovered the existence of news, history and the politics that shapes them. Moreover, the Kennedy assassination made me aware of my own mortality.

FROM ICE AGE MOTHERS TO ME: A 13,000-YEAR JOURNEY

2026-04-22T13:30:00.009-04:00

My maternal line tells a story that begins not just centuries ago, but deep in the Ice Age.

Through the magic of mtDNA testing, the kind that traces a direct line from mother to mother across thousands of years, I’ve learned that I belong to haplogroup U4a2. This lineage reaches back roughly 13,000 years to the hunter-gatherer women of northern Europe, who lived in a harsh, glacial landscape at the end of the last Ice Age. Over time, their descendants adapted, settled, and became part of the early populations of central Europe, eventually finding roots in what is now Switzerland.

By the 1700s, my maternal lineage could be documented.

ROSE JONELY

The story begins in Bern, Switzerland, with Christina Hoffman, born in 1724. From her, the line continues through generations of Swiss daughters, Anna Wyttenbach, Barbara Streit, Elisabeth Hadorn, Elizabeth Trubel, and Rose Marguerite Jonely, women who lived their lives in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

With Rose Marguerite Jonely, my second great-grandmother, the story takes a dramatic turn. Around 1880, Mormon missionaries persuaded her family to leave Switzerland and begin a new life in Idaho. That journey across the Atlantic marked a turning point, but not a break in the chain.

In Idaho, the next generations, Rose Vaterlaus and Laura Louise Burnside, carried the lineage forward. Laura, my grandmother, lived in many places, but one constant remained: the passing of that ancient maternal thread. She gave birth to my mother, Margaret Josephine Kelley, who in turn passed it on to me.

So my maternal story is an epic journey: from Ice‑Age Europe, to the Swiss Alps, to American life, an unbroken chain of mothers and daughters stretching across centuries.

AN UNEXPECTED ANCESTRAL PATH

2026-02-04T15:42:00.005-05:00

I recently read a story about a woman who took a deep dive into her ancestry, going back thousands of years. Her experience got me thinking about my own family history and wondering what I might find if I looked a little further back than the usual records and family stories.

While researching, I uncovered a genetic term called haplogroups, which are large genetic groups that link people to a shared ancient ancestor. Some are paternal, passed from father to son, while others are maternal, which are passed from the mother to all her children. They don’t tell the whole story of who we are, but they can offer some interesting clues about where our ancestors came from and how they moved across the world long ago.

A while back, I took a DNA test through Ancestry.com. Later, I discovered those results could be used to identify my paternal haplogroup, which allowed me to trace my direct father-to-son line. (I’ll need to conduct a different DNA test, to discover my maternal haplogroup, which is on my to do list for later.)

So, I uploaded my Ancestry DNA file to another site that identifies paternal haplogroups. It came up with R1b-L421. At first, I thought, “So what?” But after doing some reading, though, I was floored to learn that this line likely traces back to Eastern Europe, around present-day Bulgaria or Romania, well before the rise of the Roman Empire.

That discovery made me pause, since our genealogical research places the Wells family in England and Scotland for many generations. One possible explanation, suggested by Google’s new AI feature, is that this Eastern European DNA entered my English ancestral line through a Roman-era mercenary. The Romans recruited soldiers from across their empire and stationed some of them in Britain along Hadrian’s Wall. It seems likely that this soldier, if he did indeed exist, had children with a native woman and assimilated into British culture. Amazingly, it seems, his DNA may have simply carried on, generation after generation, eventually reaching me.

THE FEEL-GOOD BUZZWORD: AFFORDABILITY

2026-02-01T13:00:00.001-05:00

This morning, I reluctantly flipped on MSNOW (formerly MSNBC), bracing myself for what was coming. Sure enough, it was the usual parade of Democratic Party talking points. But today, one word kept popping up over and over again: affordability. Apparently, that’s the new magic word. Commentator after commentator praised it, arguing that a renewed focus on affordability is the key to winning back political power.

On the surface, it sounds great. Who doesn’t want things to be more affordable? But once you sit with it for more than a minute, the whole idea starts to ring hollow. “Affordability” quickly reveals itself as a feel-good slogan, pleasant to hear, but light on substance. It’s nothing more than a platitude standing in for real solutions.

Yes, this message seems to be working for now. Democrats have notched some impressive wins in recent off-year elections, and they deserve credit for that. Still, I worry the momentum won’t last if the party keeps leaning on the same recycled rhetoric. If Democrats genuinely want to energize working-class voters, they need to offer something bolder with policies that people can actually feel in their everyday lives. Minor adjustments to the status quo, such as expanded tax credits, modest drug price negotiations, or incremental housing initiatives, often come across as window dressing to people who are struggling to get by.

What many voters are really craving, IMHO, is something far more straightforward, which is, for lack of a better term, populism. People want substantive change. And I believe the path forward is clear. Run on big, unmistakable ideas, such as Medicare for All, a massive expansion of public service jobs to stop endless layoffs, and bold investments in infrastructure. That’s how the Democrats can become a true opposition party to the elites who currently run this country.

LIVE GENERAL STRIKE FROM MINNESOTA 1/23/2026

2026-01-23T16:37:00.003-05:00

CRUISELINES, COASTLINES, AND COINCIDENCES

2026-01-17T20:59:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, a local news story sneaks up on you and lands a little closer to home than expected. This one did exactly that.

According to several local reports, a Seattle-based company is considering building a brand-new cruise port right here in Manatee County that's large enough to accommodate the massive cruise ships that can’t fit under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Tampa already handles the smaller vessels, but this proposed port would be designed for the real giants of the cruise industry.

What makes this especially surreal for me is that I book cruise vacations for a living. Day after day, I sit at my desk at home, working from dual monitors, helping people plan trips aboard these very ships. Until now, those ships have existed mostly as itineraries, deck plans, and booking confirmations on a screen. Suddenly, there’s a real possibility they could be docking on Rattlesnake Key, just a few miles from where I live.

Developers are pitching the project as a major economic win for the area. They’re talking about thousands of new jobs, along with the ripple effects—new restaurants, motels, and tourism dollars brought in by waves of cruise passengers passing through. It’s an appealing vision, especially in a region that’s always balancing growth with opportunity.

At the same time, environmental groups are already raising red flags. Concerns about water quality, impacts on wildlife, and the loss of one of the county’s last largely undeveloped areas are front and center in the debate. It’s the familiar Florida dilemma: progress versus preservation, prosperity versus protection.

If the project does move forward, construction wouldn’t begin for at least five years, so nothing is imminent. Still, the idea lingers. There’s something undeniably strange about realizing that the massive cruise lines I help book every day—from the quiet of my home office—might soon be sailing up and down the coastline less than ten miles away.

For now, it’s just a proposal. But it’s also a reminder of how tightly interconnected our work, our communities, and our environment really are, and how sometimes, the abstract suddenly becomes very real

WHEN FAITH MEETS THE VAST UNKNOWN

2025-08-03T23:49:00.000-04:00

My perception of "God", if you will, is a recognition of a higher power or supreme consciousness that exists far beyond the limits of our understanding. This divine presence is so vast, so unfathomable in its nature and scope, that attempting to fully comprehend it is like asking a single-celled organism to understand the passage of time or the nature of abstract thought. Just as such a creature lacks the faculties to grasp those concepts, we too are inherently limited in our ability to perceive or define the true essence of the divine.

TAMPA BAY'S NEW MUST-SEE PLAYER

2025-07-20T13:50:00.005-04:00

I’ve been a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan for as long as I can remember. But after moving to the Tampa Bay area 11 years ago, I found myself catching more and more Rays games partly out of convenience, but also because this team has become seriously fun to watch. And this season? It’s something special. The Rays have unleashed Chandler Simpson, a 24-year-old rookie who might just be the fastest player in all of Major League Baseball. I’m not exaggerating; this guy flies.

In just 55 games, he’s already stolen 27 bases, and every time he gets on, whether it’s a walk, a bloop single, or whatever. You get the feeling he’s about to turn it into a double or a triple with his wheels alone. He’s got that electric, edge-of-your-seat energy that reminds me of Lou Brock, Vince Coleman, and Rickey Henderson, guys who made speed an art form. In an era dominated by home runs and strikeouts, Simpson is reviving a part of the game that many thought was gone. If he stays healthy, I truly believe we’re watching the rise of baseball’s next great star.

THE MYTH OF THE MISSING WHEEL

2025-07-17T13:00:00.001-04:00

For a long time, it’s been widely assumed in the West that pre-Columbian civilizations were somehow intellectually inferior because they never developed the wheel. However, archaeological discoveries in Mexico tell a different story. Wheeled ceramic toys, some dating back centuries before European contact, clearly show that the concept of the wheel was known and understood.

These artifacts challenge the narrative that ancient American cultures were unaware of this fundamental innovation. So why wasn’t the wheel used for transportation? Scholars suggest the answer may lie in environmental factors, such as the absence of large draft animals and the rugged geography of much of the area. These findings serve as a reminder that technological progress isn’t always a universal path—and that assumptions about cultural advancement need to be reconsidered.

THE BREAKING POINT

2025-06-03T02:34:00.001-04:00

I'm nearly beyond words in trying to describe the extent of my utter revulsion toward the U.S. government's unwavering, bipartisan support for Israel's brutal and genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. Both Biden and Trump, along with the vast majority of Congress, those who blindly serve the interests of AIPAC, are complicit in this unrelenting atrocity. I view them as nothing less than corrupt war criminals, responsible for the continued suffering of countless innocent lives.

I haven’t always felt this way. My disillusionment with Washington didn’t arrive overnight; it crept in slowly, like a crack in a windshield, small and ignorable at first, until it spread beyond repair. I once held many elected officials in high esteem. Back in the 1990s, while working as a broadcast journalist, I considered it a mark of professional pride whenever I had the rare opportunity to interview a member of Congress or a U.S. Senator. There was still, then, a sense of honor in the idea of public service.

But that sense of respect has eroded, first gradually, then completely. The lies that led us into the Iraq War marked the beginning of that descent. As the years unfolded, scandal after scandal, indifference after inaction, my faith in American leadership thinned to a thread. And now, with the horrors unfolding in Gaza, that thread has finally snapped.

The breaking point came when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, widely regarded as the driving force behind Israel’s ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing, was welcomed to a nationally televised joint session of Congress. There, he was met not with protest or scrutiny, but with thunderous, repeated standing ovations. Applause echoed through the chamber, not for peace, not for diplomacy, but for genocide.

For me, it was the clearest signal yet that those who govern us no longer speak for human decency, let alone for me.

THE REEL THING

2025-05-14T18:49:00.002-04:00

Back during my childhood daze in the mid-1960s, I had a gadget that felt like it came straight from the future: a portable Panasonic reel-to-reel tape recorder. To my young mind, it was the ultimate in cool. It wasn't close to state of the art, but it could capture and playback sound, a feat that I found utterly captivating.

Kids from my suburban St. Louis County neighborhood would drop by, and we'd transform my bedroom into a broadcast booth and do our best to simulate the legendary Cardinal play-by-play announcers at the time, Harry Caray and Jack Buck. With the help of a walkie-talkie's fuzzy static for a cheering crowd-noise generator, we recorded imaginary games from our imaginary broadcast booth.

I’m not sure what ever happened to that little recorder. It probably wound up getting tossed along with my baseball card collection when I left home to attend college. But the memories? Those remain. They’ve lasted far longer than any reel of magnetic tape ever could.

OUTRAGE MISPLACED

2025-03-26T10:52:00.000-04:00

If one relied solely on the corporate, mainstream media for their news, they might come to believe that the only story worth following is the leak of military plans to a journalist. With pundits on cable news and attention-hungry politicians stoking endless outrage, it's easy to get swept up in the frenzy.

But I’d wager that for 99 percent of Americans beyond the political bubble, this story barely makes a ripple. What's truly disheartening, though, is the complete absence of outrage over what these leaked plans actually reveal: the further escalation of an unwinnable war against the already devastated, poverty-stricken nation of Yemen.

BEYOND COMPREHENSION

2025-02-10T10:51:00.000-05:00

The sheer scale of the Universe is almost impossible for us to grasp. Imagine shrinking the entire Solar System to the size of a quarter—suddenly, the Milky Way galaxy would stretch out to cover the entire North American continent. And that's just one galaxy in a vast, unfathomable expanse of countless others scattered across unimaginable distances.

The enormity of it all deepens my belief in a higher power, something greater than ourselves. We are part of this immense Universe, and in this vastness, we've developed a consciousness that allows us to glimpse its wonders from our human perspective.

FOOTBALL'S WAR OF ATTRITION HAS MADE SPORT THE UNWATCHABLE

2024-10-22T21:45:00.000-04:00

With each passing week of the football season, it feels like we're constantly hearing about players facing devastating, season-ending injuries. Just last night, during the Monday Night NFL matchup between the Ravens and Buccaneers, five players had to leave the field due to injury—some of them won't return for the rest of the season. It's reached the point where this kind of scenario happens in almost every game, and it's made me lose any desire to follow or support American football, whether it's at the high school, college, or professional level.

The surge in severe injuries has stripped the game of its integrity, transforming it into little more than a brutal war of attrition. Each week, teams are forced to rely more and more on second- and third-string players, especially as the seasons stretch longer and longer. Yes, other contact sports contend with injuries, but none on the same scale as football. The sport has become a modern-day gladiator arena, echoing the brutal competitions of ancient Rome.

THE FIRST ROAR

2023-08-23T11:32:00.003-04:00

It was sometime during the summer of 1964; I don't remember the exact date. The hometown St. Louis Cardinals were in the middle of one of the most fantastic pennant drives in baseball history. However, as a six-year-old kid, I was oblivious to this fact when I attended my first major league ball game. I barely knew the difference between a ball and a strike when my father took me and my older brothers to watch the Redbirds take on the New York Mets at OLD, OLD Busch Stadium (formerly known as Sportsman's Park).

This venue was where I first heard the ROAR. It happened while we were sitting in our general admission seats on the upper deck. The game at the time meant little to me as I was fixated mostly on the spectacle of seeing the largest mass of humanity I had ever seen gathered before my young eyes.

Then suddenly, cork...ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!

Tens of thousands of people were standing and cheering loudly. The sound reminded me of the noise my toy walkie-talkie made when the volume on its static was turned all the way up. I looked at my Dad with a mix of surprise and puzzlement. He knew I didn't know what the hell was going on and told me, "The Cardinals just got a hit."

Over the years since that first game, I have become quite an avid, and I'd like to think, a knowledgeable fan of the Cardinals and the sport, in general. Now, I've heard that roar in the following years during many exciting and memorable moments at differing venues. However, none of those instances have equaled how the sensation felt when I experienced it for the first time.

ALBERT PUJOLS SHOULD RETURN TO ST. LOUIS

2021-05-12T05:23:00.001-04:00

The Cardinals really ought to consider allowing Albert Pujols to finish his superstar career where it began...in St. Louis. Yes, there really isn't a clear-cut role on the team for him other than as a backup, pinch-hitting type player.The Los Angeles Angels surprised the baseball world earlier this week by unceremoniously releasing the 41-year-old veteran. For those not aware, Pujols signed a multi-million-dollar contract with the Angels nearly ten years ago after putting up legendary numbers during the first part of his career in St. Louis. However, he never really caught on in Los Angeles. 2021 has been especially laborious for him. If he does decide to wear the 'birds on the bat' again, Pujols can end his career playing for a team that has a real shot at winning a championship. And Cardinals fans get to say goodbye to one of the true legends of their historic franchise. There is precedent for aging superstars returning to their original homes, by the way. The Hall of Fame careers of Willie Mays and Hank Aaron ended in just such a fashion.

THE WHITEWASHING OF LIZ CHENEY

2021-05-10T14:35:00.001-04:00

What is with this preoccupation from the so-called ‘liberal’ media with Liz Cheney? Lately it seems, cable news channels MSNBC and CNN are lavishing endless hours of coverage to the rift between Cheney, a Republican congresswoman from Wyoming and daughter to former Vice President Dick Cheney, and the current GOP House leadership that’s loyal to Donald Trump.

Cheney had the audacity to vote for the former president’s impeachment due to his role in instigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection earlier this year. In retaliation, Trumpian House leaders seek to strip Cheney of her powerful committee assignments.

As a result of all this insider politics, Liz Cheney has been elevated as the new courageous hero for the ‘resistance’ by becoming the emblem for the GOP they falsely assert it once was, fact-based and rational. While Liz Cheney appears willing to sacrifice her House career by calling out Trump’s lies, lest we forget, she continues to support her father’s lies that led to untold amounts of death, bloodshed, and torture in the disastrous Iraq War. Liz Cheney is about as right wing as they come. She’s a warmonger who’s never met a war or bloated defense budget she didn’t love as she’s to the right of Trump on foreign policy. She’s vigorously opposed both COVID-19 relief acts calling the first one “a real tragedy”, and has attacked even the mildest responses to gun violence as an assault on the Second Amendment.

Amnesia seems to have gripped much of the mainstream liberal media these days as pundits continue to revise the legacy of the Bush-Cheney crowd, including the former vice president’s daughter, in a sympathetic, yet erroneous, recollection. Frankly, I won’t lose any sleep if Liz Cheney loses her clout in Congress.

MEDICARE ELIGIBILITY

2021-04-25T12:24:00.000-04:00

JOE BIDEN: MY EARLY VIEW ON HIS FUTURE PRESIDENCY

2020-11-08T12:46:00.004-05:00

In 73 days, Donald Trump will officially lose power and Joe Biden will be sworn in as our 46th president. And he will be a vast improvement on many levels. He will bring, at long last, at scientific, compassionate approach to battling the Coronavirus pandemic effectively. I believe he will be successful. Beyond that, however, my hopes for Biden getting much else accomplished remain somewhat subdued. Like President Obama, he will have to deal with an obstructive Mitch McConnell-led U.S Senate. Biden will likely be hamstrung in getting even the smallest possible incremental reform passed. Moreover, the new president-elect has signaled that he may not make pushing for any progressive reforms a priority. Pundits say Biden may appoint anti-labor, austerity-minded Republicans like former Ohio Governor John Kasich to his cabinet. Meantime, many party insiders close to Biden are warning progressives should back off from promoting issues, such as Medicare for All. They say they will be harmful to any future electoral success.

I believe this approach would be a mistake. Medicare for All is hugely popular as recent polls indicate it has more than 70 percent support among all Americans. In a recent piece published in Common Dreams, New York progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez points out that all the congressional Democrats who lost their re-election bids in Tuesday’s elections were centrists who did not support Medicare for All. While the candidates supporting it, she maintains, won. Sadly, during the campaign, Biden has categorically stated that he is opposed to Medicare for All, but did indicate he supports a revised ACA plan with a public option. I hope, at least, he remains steadfast to that promise.

ANCESTRY FINDINGS UNCOVER ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

2019-09-10T18:32:00.001-04:00

Until not long ago, I knew very little about my family’s roots. I was armed with only scant knowledge in which I could only trace both my paternal and maternal ancestry to approximately a hundred years ago.

However, during the past few years, I’ve gained an amazing new awareness of it thanks to genealogical research conducted by my brother, and to a lesser extent myself, on Ancestry.com. This research has laid bare a family history that, in some instances, can be traced backed to the Early Middle Ages.

It revealed that the ancestral Wells line is intertwined intimately with English history, perhaps dating as far back as William the Conqueror. Another paternal line indicates that I could be a direct descendant of English King Edward III. Research on more ‘recent’ findings shows that I have paternal ancestors who were English Puritans that immigrated to New England during the time of the Pilgrims. Later generations lived there while the American Revolution unfolded and one ancestor, it appears, was the father to a Declaration of Independence signer named Oliver Wolcott.

Findings also show more recently that my paternal grandmother’s father, Thomas Jefferson Wiley, had fought in the Civil War as a Union infantryman for a Minnesota volunteer regiment.

While not as far-reaching, this fresh research greatly broadened my knowledge on my maternal roots as well. My family was already aware that my mother, whose maiden name was Kelley, was descended from Irish Catholic stock. However, we could only trace that lineage back to my great-grandfather, John Joseph Kelley, who immigrated from Ireland to the United States sometime during the late 19^th Century. This new inquiry enabled us to learn to my great-grandfather’s surname was ‘Kelly’ before immigration officials anglicized it upon his entry to this country in 1888. The findings also enabled us to trace his lineage, as well as his wife, Bridget Fitzgerald, back several more generations.

Research on my maternal ancestry also revealed, a heretofore, unknown link to Swiss German ancestors who settled in Idaho around 1883 and to Quaker ancestors who originally settled in Pennsylvania during the 1700s and later moved to North Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana in subsequent generations.

My sixth great-grandfather, the Reverend Thomas Beals, is one ancestor in this line who was particularly noteworthy. He was a Quaker missionary preacher who’s credited with being the first to bring that religion to the wilderness in what was to become Ohio. (It existed then as the Northwest Territory.) This link provides an interesting account on how Beals was arrested and later released after working out a peace agreement with Native Americans.

All in all, these findings have been an epiphany. Yet, I must recognize that they paint somewhat of a rosy account of my roots and do not come even close revealing the complete picture. The vast majority of my roots remains hidden and will probably remain so for eternity. These findings are based on written accounts, which become more difficult to come by as one delves further into the past. Many of my ancestors were illiterate and have no record whatsoever of their existence. As is the case with all of humanity, I suspect I don’t have to time travel very far to find direct ancestors who cannot be traced.

TULSI GABBARD TWEET

2019-09-08T12:53:00.000-04:00

You are so spot on. Keep getting that anti-war message out. It's beginning to make an impact as the tools for the war mongerers have taken notice and are amping up their smear campaigns against you. #Tulsi2020 #NoMoreWars
— Joel Wells (@animule) August 3, 2019

NATIONAL RADIO DAY

2019-09-08T12:44:00.001-04:00

From my radio daze...#NationalRadioDay pic.twitter.com/3gYMy7IvUJ
— Joel Wells (@animule) August 20, 2019

LABOR DAY TRIBUTE TO MY GRANDFATHER

2019-09-05T20:50:00.001-04:00

In honor of Labor Day, I decided to post this photo of my maternal grandfather, Thomas Kelley, who appears with facial wounds he received from a beating he took from company thugs while organizing for a union at a Flint, Mich., automaker in 1936. My grandfather, a toolmaker, took part in the historic sit down strikes over unfair wages and unsafe working conditions. After more than forty days of striking amid violent reprisals from police and company hired ‘goons’, the workers won these concessions and subsequently, the United Auto Workers was formed. My grandfather was a charter member. Many of the things my grandfather fought for are now benefits workers take for granted.

While much maligned during the last 40 years, labor unions have always been at the forefront of fighting for social justice in America and Labor Day is a time to honor the blood and sacrifice that has gone into the labor movement’s early days. And while working conditions are not as harsh as they were during my Grandfather’s time, the need for a labor movement has again become increasingly necessary.

OVERUSED WORDS AND PHRASES FOOTBALL ANNOUNCERS USE

2018-07-30T17:56:00.001-04:00

Football season is upon us once again. And it’s time to desensitize our ears to football lingo being uttered every weekend by thousands of Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth wannabes at a stadium near you.

Now, there’s game terminology, such as “yardage” and “touchdown”, which football fans will hear during every game. But, then there’s also the excessive expressive talk. Here’s a short list of five words or phrases that football announcers simply overuse:

Tremendous – I don’t think this word would even exist were it not for football. Howard Cosell was, perhaps, the one who popularized the word, tremendous.
Monster – as in BIG! “Jones is having a monster game” or “The Colts’ matchup with the Patriots next Sunday is going to be a monster game”.
Wide Open – This one must be taught in Football Broadcasting 101. Announcers at every level of competition, high school, college or pro, use “wide open” at least once a game to describe a player who had no coverage during a passing play.
Execute or Execution – Somebody somewhere told football announcers that saying “He’s really executing well.” instead of “He’s really playing well,” makes them appear more educated. But hey, Terry Bradshaw says execute…so what does that tell you?
Work Ethic – I hear this one a lot in basketball also. It goes very well with entry number one, “He has a tremendous work ethic!”

So, if you want to give up your day job and try football announcing as a career, just start constructing sentences with one or more of the above phrases. “Davis, showing tremendous execution and work ethic, managed to get wide open on that monster play.”

Voting and Watching Out For the Other Guy

2016-11-07T19:12:00.000-05:00

Remember those old defensive driving public service announcements imploring drivers to ‘watch out for the other guy!’?

That’s the logic I used for casting my vote in this year’s presidential election.

I seriously considered voting for Jill Stein. Unfortunately, her campaign never caught fire, which is sad because her party's platform is outstanding. But reality is what it is. America in 2016 has only two viable political parties: Democrats and Republicans.

Despite a manipulated primary process earlier this year, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton survived a surprising challenge from Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (whom I supported) and won the Democratic nomination. Meanwhile, businessman and reality show TV star Donald Trump whittled down a field of 17 weak candidates and shockingly won the Republican nomination. Such at is, we are left with that choice: a status-quo, corporatist neo-liberal hawk or a reckless, racist, narcissistic, sexist, unstable demagogue. Because of the appalling foulness of the latter option, in my opinion, the former becomes tolerable. I, therefore, voted for Hillary Clinton.

I believe Donald Trump’s election to would prove to be an imminent, catastrophic danger, not only to our country, but to the entire planet. New York Times columnist Charles Blow captured my sentiment last week and expressed it much better than I can.

“On Election Day, America faces a choice, and it’s not a tough one, but a stark one. It is the difference between tolerance and intolerance. It is the difference between respect and disrespect. It is the difference between a politician with some flaws and a flaw threatening our politics.

Donald Trump is an existential threat. On Tuesday (tomorrow), America has an opportunity to defend itself.”

Don’t get me wrong. I have some serious misgivings about Clinton. She encourages a foreign policy that relies too heavily on interventionism. Her record on trade issues that adversely impact America’s working class is murky at best. And she is way too friendly with lobbyists pitching the interests of Wall Street and the military-industrial complex. Plus, I still haven’t quite forgiven her for her 2002 vote in the U.S. Senate to authorize the use of force in the ill-begotten Iraq War.

Given this track record, I believe Hillary possesses some semblance of sanity. And unlike the recent past, the party’s left wing does have some clout. Should she become president, they'll be able to hold her accountable. At the very least, they'll have a seat at the table. And thanks largely to the influence of Sanders and his delegates, the Democrats at their summer convention adopted a remarkably progressive party platform that includes, among other policies, a plank that calls for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and indexing it to inflation. Yes, party platforms aren't carved in granite. But they do provide a framework in which Hillary can be held to keep her promises. I cannot say the same about a Trump presidency. Any progressive ideas will be completely shut down. In fact, even the status quo will be in peril. The thought of him holding office terrifies the ever-loving shit out of me.

So, I’ve decided to fasten my belt and watch out for the other guy.