Dear reader: We’re facing really horrible corruption in our government; it’s getting so bad, we’re nearing like end-stage Byzantine Empire type corruption, with the rot of corruption undermining every government bureaucracy, every political appointment, and the decay reinforced by a corrupt people and the government feeding it back to people in this demonic loop. This … Continue reading “Wow!! Obama appointments sold to highest bidder”
I’m writing a memoir now, well, memoir/serious nonfiction/exposé, finally the Nick’s Crusade book, so I was interested in Tom Wolfe’s (brief) comments on Memoir. He quotes Orwell “memoir is the worst form of fiction” because you focus on the sensational, not the mundane and humiliating that makes up 75% of life (then he goes into … Continue reading “Tom Wolfe Talks Memoir: “the worst form of fiction””
Here’s a fascinating topic you won’t find elsewhere: the Plug Uglies. The Plug Uglies were a gang of nativist thugs that ran Baltimore for nearly seven years uninterrupted in the 1850s. The American Party sprung from the grassroots in reaction to the flood of immigration in the mid-1800s, which meant you had a substantial population … Continue reading “Plug Uglies: top hat-toughs”
How I’ve Changed Since Moving to New York City or… Living in Zomerica I started out and made my name as an activist in Alabama, where the left is deeply influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. I always spoke in the language of Biblical and , sometimes overtly, very much in the tradition of the … Continue reading “Living in Zomerica”
If you haven’t heard last year’s Planet Money on campaign fundraising (I refer to this as campaign bribetributions, a hybrid of campaign contributions and blatant bribery) then you should: Planet Money wrote: [The Congressman] said, “I have put in two calls to your PAC director and I haven’t received any returned phone calls. Now why … Continue reading ““No bribe?” [the Congressman] said, “why am I taking this meeting?!””
I had originally intended to write this for Blogging Against Disablism Day, BADD, 2012. Obviously I’m WAY late for that, over two days after the deadline. But since I’ve participated in BADD in the past, I said hey, why not?! Maybe BADD readers will still find this post, and may, along with other audiences, find … Continue reading “The Path of the Disabled Man”
This is the first in a series of book and article reviews I’ll write, taking you through the stacks and exploring old and not so old books about humanity’s story (history). In this case, I’m exploring a fairly rare social history from 1965, probably not something you’d find on the shelves of your local public … Continue reading “Heroes Without Glory: Some Good Men of the Old West—Nick explores a dusty, old-fashioned book of social history”
Continuing my comments on Mitt Romney’s “very ample safety net” statement on CNN; see the first half of my post: Mitt Romney: Can You Help Us, Mr. Fix It? (Part 1)… So, as I said in Part 1, it’s very important to assess presidential candidates in a just and fair manner, and too often the … Continue reading “Mitt Romney: Can You Help Us, Mr. Fix It? (Part 2)”
So, there’s been a dust up over Mitt Romney’s “I’m not concerned about the very poor” comments on CNN. A lot of the blogosphere is mindlessly blasting this quote sans context, and the TV news even worse, so Team Romney isn’t wrong to protest how this has been “taken out of context.” Cable news … Continue reading “Mitt Romney: Can You Help Us, Mr. Fix It? (Part 1)”
People in chronic pain need help, more options, more understanding. [the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research] Issued at the request of Congress as part of President Obama’s health reform legislation, the report calls for a “cultural transformation” — an attitude shift on … Continue reading “Senator Schumer, Hands Off Our Meds Please”
Just 10 hours after the debate Saturday night sponsored by St. Anselm College and ABC News, there was another debate put on by NBC’s Meet the Press and Facebook. They’re trying to pack in as many debates as possible before the New Hampshire primary Tuesday. You can watch the Meet the Press Republican Candidates Debate … Continue reading “The Closing Arguments For America’s Future Before The New Hampshire Primary”
Anyone noticed the flurry of theoretically impossible discoveries scientists have recently made? Science seems to be increasingly uncovering the impossible is, in fact, very possible! It’s clear to me that the sum of human knowledge is like a thimble in a sea of what we don’t know, and we’re finding more new questions than answers. … Continue reading “Four Recent Discoveries Show the “Theoretically Impossible” May Be Possible!”
With love and thanks to everyone who has made my current, first semester back to college (online) possible… The History of U.S. – Latin American Relations: An Overview Nicholas F. Dupree The history of U.S.-Latin American relations is a long and bloody one checkered by imperialist aggression and exploitation. The United States had a head … Continue reading “Did You Know? Imperialist Aggression and Exploitation: The History of U.S. – Latin American Relations”
I’m happy that some of my blog posts have become particularly well-trafficked resources on the interweb. I’ve often written about historical topics that interest me, and, oddly enough, those posts get more hits than posts about disability, politics and injustice, the main subjects of my Nick’s Crusade Blog. This is a survey of the most … Continue reading “Best Of Nick’s Crusade Blog, So Far”
You may or may not know about the medical model and the social model of disability. I wanted to talk about the social model of services and supports for people with disabilities, and barriers to implementing it. When you think about disability internationally, most disabled people in countries around the world are taken care of … Continue reading “The Social vs. Medical Model of Disability, Communities Will Be Forced To Choose”
In my post in September 2006, The Religion Century, I argue that now that the world is no longer bi-polar, the only pole left is the US, and in place of a conflict between nation-states, we have clashing cultures and ideologies. Religious fervor, among Muslims, Christians and Jews, not to mention European paganism and the ancient … Continue reading “The Religion Century: Challenged By European Atheists? No.”
Everyone interested in understanding the current crisis in the Middle East should watch Jon Stewart’s conversation with Mansour O. El-Kikhia, a Benghazi-born professor who chairs the political science department at UT San Antonio. This is an important pro-intervention viewpoint to think about, though I differ in pivotal areas and OPPOSE American intervention in a third concurrent … Continue reading “U.S. Expat Professor From Benghazi Talks To Jon Stewart (a pro-intervention viewpoint)”
Hollywood Images of Disability (CHF EDIT) from salome chasnoff on Vimeo. Everyone interested in disability rights should watch this 18min short “Hollywood Images of Disability,” about Hollywood’s terrible treatment of disability, which is normally depicted as something so deformed, so unspeakably terrifying that disabled characters have to be cured (Heidi, Monkey Shines, Avatar, and zillions … Continue reading “Rain Man (1988) and Hollywood’s treatment of disability”
The University of Alabama Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program School of Law Clinical Program 2003 Alabama Disability Summit On August 14, 2003 the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program hosted its third annual Disability Summit. Disability rights activists, advocates, consumers, family members, and others gathered at the historic Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church for a morning session … Continue reading “For MLK Day, this newsletter clipping about a speech I gave at Rev. King’s old church in Montgomery”
Today, Thursday the 13th of January, 2011, I’ve begun posting Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders vs. Zombies with the first, 5-page Introductory chapter up. At least one new page will be uploaded every Tues and Thurs. Summary: It’s 1898, and a Zombie Apocalypse has hit the tri-state area hard. Theodore Roosevelt is New York’s only … Continue reading “Exciting Stuff Happening Over At Superdude.org”
Delgo Rated PG 89 minutes long I understand why this movie tanked at the box office and recouped the independent production only 700k of 40 million invested, it needed a major script overhaul to edit out about 40 minutes of what feels like filler, tighten the story, cut the ultra-forced comedy, and lighten the heavy … Continue reading “Review of animated movie “Delgo” (2008)”
Like described by Abby Jean on the Feminists with Disabilities blog recently, I’m obsessed with public policy. It’s true. I am a policy wonk. I am endlessly interested in it. I read about it, think about it, talk about it and … write about it. (As in, what I’m doing right now.) And I do … Continue reading “Boardwalk Empire, Corruption, And Incentives For Public Servants”
Sometimes a normal female bottlenose dolphin (typically 300-600 lbs.) mates with one of the biggest species in the dolphin family, the false killer whale (not really a whale, hence “false,” but being 4,000 lbs., the size of an orca, and having similar coloration, is easily mistaken as one from a distance). I’m talking about freaky-deeky … Continue reading “Dolphin + False Killer Whale = Wholphin”
It’s true. Lots of what’s on TV is just unbearable. Here are some shows to avoid at all costs: Chase – NBC, 10/9central Monday night This show is about a Houston task force of U.S. Marshals who chase the most dangerous, most wanted fugitives in Texas. But unlike most crime dramas, where you’re rooting for … Continue reading “What New Fall TV Shows To Avoid (2010)”
Newsflash: Some New Fall TV Series Actually Worth Your Time!! Detroit 187 – ABC, 10/9central Tuesday night This new cop show about a unit of homicide detectives in Detroit is really intelligent and immersive. Unlike most hour-long dramas, it really immerses you in an environment, in characters, with the city (Detroit) as a character in … Continue reading “What New Fall TV Shows To Watch (2010)”
Last week, like the careful student of political science I am, I was reading the full text of the Pledge to America, the new policy platform for the GOP’s Fall Election campaign… The thing that disturbed me the most is that the text so emphasizes the Constitution and a return to the Constitution, all this … Continue reading “Do The Orwellian Police State Cha-Cha!!”
To respond to the comments made during WBAI radio’s roundtable discussion about my latest blog essay “Why It’s Time For Survival Politics For People with Disabilities…” The last statement in the radio segment about my blog was Josie Byzek saying that (my paraphrasing) the Tea Party may win big in the midterm elections, but then … Continue reading “The Cost of Denial For People with Disabilities”
My blog posts are making waves! My new blog essay about the affect of the Tea Party and the related drastic benefit changes on people with disabilities was the subject of a roundtable discussion this morning on local WBAI radio’s disability chat show “The Largest Minority.” You can listen to the radio discussion here. Sept. … Continue reading “Nick’s Crusade Blog Featured On Local Radio WBAI!”
To listen to WBAI radio’s roundtable discussion about the below essay, go here. This isn’t “The Great Recession,” it’s “The Great Change.” The recession–that is just a symptom of these enormous tectonic shifts going on (societally, technologically, economically, politically) and our inability to keep up has caused disruptions and economic downturn. That economic downturn is … Continue reading “Why It’s Time For Survival Politics For People with Disabilities”
As I detailed before, the New York Republican party elected far-right candidate Carl Paladino to run on their gubernatorial line, and he’s been embroiled in controversy over racist, XXX and bestial email forwards he sent. I talked about this in my last blog post; I don’t support and never post such crass material, but I … Continue reading “New York GOP’s Gubernatorial Candidate Tries To Brush Off Racist, XXX and Bestial Emails”