Monthly Archive: January 2019

GOP Exit Strategy: The Case for President Pence

“Face it, Republicans. Trumpism is a slapdash replicate of P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth. Moreover, like a ringmaster’s illusion, Trump and his sideshow of insatiable propagandists on a grander scale, consciously sold fake news, and  hyper-partisanship to a trusting audience. Mike Pence as president, restores faith and sanity to our governmental institutions while providing an opportunity to salvage a doomed 2020.”

Falwell

A Tale of Two Falwells

It’s easy to see the vestiges of Falwell, Sr.’s “I Love America” rallies in President Trump’s MAGA spectacles. Falwell the younger has evolved from organizing conservative Christians to mastering how to monetize them. With Donald Trump and the future of America as the new pitch, they have been politically weaponized.

Ukraine and Israel

Linky Friday: Those Folks on the Hill

Linky Friday, Ordinary Times’ end-of-week tradition of bringing you links to stories from around the world and across the web. This week: The Folks on the Hill, looking at the newly sworn in Congress, with music to read, share, and discuss

Against Everything by Mark Greif, and Mythologies by Roland Barthes

To Stand Athwart Myth

To dive deeper into the implications of Mark Greif’s “Against Everything,” Roland Barthes’ “Mythologies” is required.

When Editors hear the Word ‘Culture’…

Todd VanDerWerff, a cultural critic and journalist, says (somewhat unsurprisingly) that we need cultural critics and journalists, a group of writers that have been let go from numerous media outlets over the past few years as all media coverage is gradually sucked into the Trump Singularity.

Romney

Mitt Romney Writes a Thing, People React

What we now have in this latest version of Trump v Romney is two men in whom it’s been established who and what they are. In Romney we have a throwback vestige to the Republican party of the time before Trump the disruptor came, in many ways, as the reaction to that type of politics.

New Years

Ordinary New Year

Happy New Year from Ordinary Times! To start 2019, a look back at some of the most read, most discussed, and most important writing from the year that was from our great contributors.