Ben Tanosborn On Wednesday, July 4, Ricky “My-T-Mouth” Johnson, an obscure ghost lyricist in the rap-music world, and also an acquaintance from the early Occupy days, showed up at the porch of my historical townhouse at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.  He had brought his family from Portland (Oregon) to see our famed fireworks’ display, […]

Ben Tanosborn April 29 marks a score since the “Los Angeles Riots,” sparked by a “not guilty” verdict rendered on four policemen accused of beating a black man, Rodney King, to a pulp. For six days the nation witnessed via television these riots in South Central Los Angeles where 54 people lost their lives and […]

Ben Tanosborn A generation ago Bruce Springsteen was socio-serenading us with what soon was to become the iconic song, “Born in the USA.”  And now, seven presidential elections later, he’ll likely be sending his message with the song, “We Take Care of Our Own.” Although the message in 1984 was inconceivably misconstrued and misappropriated by […]

Ben Tanosborn If we don’t come to terms in America to the reality around us, we will be doomed; and not just as an empire-holder, but as a serious major player in any future affairs of planet earth.  We need to step down from that land of make-believe, and accept once and for all that […]

   Ben Tanosborn Nothing appears as ugly as unmasked raw propaganda, or seems as fashionable as well-crafted deception.  Yet, the catwalk for both forms of propaganda is one and the same, deception wearing the most titillating togs provided by the top fashion house, the House of Public Relations. And the deceptive PR isn’t limited to […]

Ben Tanosborn It is not what the few do but what the many don’t do.  That really represents what we are all about, co-conspirators in a sea of silence.  Marines who view despicable acts committed by other marines remain silent; the officers, who are well aware of this behavior, condone it, invariably following the “ethical […]

Ben Tanosborn Back in the wild-and-woolly days of the American West – encompassing much of the second half of the nineteenth century – the Colt revolver was said to be the “great equalizer.”  It promised to wipe out any gap between weak and strong, claiming to put every man at the same level of strength […]

Ben Tanosborn When a corpse is in a state of putrefaction, the only logical and healthful thing to do is to get rid of it – bury it or burn it – and not just keep holding mourning services around it.  And NATO happens to be one such corpse. General Lord Ismay, first Secretary General […]