social commentary

Evergreen Review Publishes Book Review for The Guys Who Spied for China

The Evergreen Review holds a special place in my heart.  Along with its book publishing division, Grove Press, from the mid-century on,  intrepid visionary, alias the publisher, Barney Rosset,  brought forth to this nation a tremendous selection of cutting edge literature.  This was literature that few back then would dare publish.   Even today many of [...]

Minstrel’s Alley to Expand Its Book List Despite a Shaky Book Market

(Los Angeles) Minstrel’s Alley, an independent publishing and media group, has announced its intention to expand its book publishing efforts in the forthcoming year.   The Los Angeles based company has scheduled three books for publication in 2011.   The books will be published as trade paperbacks as well as in the EBook format. “The success of [...]

When the Big Speech is Over: The Post Mid-Term Elections and a Brand New Round of Truth Speak

I have long been suspicious about the adamancy of  true believers. It’s not nice at times, and it definitely reveals my own impatience and in fact even snobbery, but nevertheless, when I hear people utter parroted news speak I realize sooner or later they will issue a new incantation explaining away either the limitations of their previous thoughts, [...]

When the Democrats Failed to Attend the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Be it right or left, we are living in a delusional society.  Both groups harbor  a near religious belief in the possibility of quick fixes to long term problems.   This  delusional act of piety may be a result of mass media and fifty years of programming where our celluloid heroes solve even in the greatest [...]

Close Encounters With the Tea Party of Beverly Hills

You don’t often think of the City of Beverly Hills and the Tea Party in one sentence.  But, nevertheless, there they were in some odd form of cosmic convergence, demonstrating to the more ardent supporters and the merely curious that populist  outrage can emanate from one of the more expensive zip codes in the United [...]