Essays

January 29th is the 273rd birthday of the man who gave our country the name, "The United States of America." In the 1820's, more than a decade after his ignominious death, admirers of Thomas Paine began a tradition of meeting in pubs around the world on his birthday to raise a glass to the man who … [Read more...] about Happy Birthday Thomas Paine!

A Post Day One Priority Schedule! Want to save some money? Here are the Vagabond's Ideas For Obama and the New Congress to consider: 1. Close Guantanamo and end USA sponsored torture. Tell the word that such a thing will never happen again. 2. Get a law enacted that prevents US companies from … [Read more...] about Patterson’s Vagabonds Top Ten II

You've been hearing this piece of idiocy forever, "It wasn't the New Deal that saved us from the Great Depression, it was World War II." In other words, domestic deficit spending is evil, but military deficit spending on a humungous scale is somehow not deficit spending at all! Go Figure. New … [Read more...] about New Deal Bashing: A New Tool For The Ignorant

Where it's cool to be hip, smart, and Liberal again, at last! Welcome To Chicago East! Old guard Washingtonians can feel it coming: a vast sea change in the culture of the Capital City. Many locals are unaware of what's about to happen. Want to see how cool this stodgy old town could actually … [Read more...] about Welcome To Chicago East! AKA Washington, DC!

Four Days after the 2008 Presidential Election, on November 6, 2008, James J Patterson had this to say, "The 2010 Congressional Election Campaign began on November 5th"...would that it had. A reprint of that column is here, and may prove insightful as we head into the stretch run... Now that the … [Read more...] about Kick’m While They’re Down!