Search Results for: Ben Easher

WHY THE AMERICAN LEFT HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND (NO MATTER WHAT THE AMERICAN RIGHT CLAIMS) By Ben Easher

Neoconservatives accuse Barack Obama of leading the United States down the road to communism. In reality, mainstream Democrats have become more fiscally conservative since the Cold War era. Obama is no more economically radical than Richard Nixon, whose presidency produced the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, increased spending on social programs, …

RETURN OF THE RATS – Vintage Portland Music That Deserves to Live On – By Ben Easher

Music historians rarely mention the Rats except when listing bands that Portland singer/songwriter/guitarist Fred Cole played in before Dead Moon. In fact, the Rose City’s alternative music scene of the early 1980s is mostly regarded as a footnote to the hype generated in Seattle a decade later. When former Dead Moon drummer Andrew Loomis invited …

WHY THE AMERICAN LEFT HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND, By Ben Easher

“More liberals need to acknowledge that Richard Nixon won—twice—and push for an updated strategy. They should stop using the following clichés when speaking or writing: The people. Progressive. Shame. Social justice. The world is watching. They should pay less attention to movies by self-serving millionaire Michael Moore and books by self-serving millionaire Noam Chomsky. They …

Portland’s Awful History of Human Trafficking Revealed in Network of Underground Tunnels Downtown

This is just awful. I don’t want to live here anymore. KGW’s lovely Abbey Gibb files an informative news feature on just how Portland’s awful history of human trafficking is revealed in a network of underground tunnels downtown: http://www.kgw.com/entertainment/Sha-138610174.html Thanks to Ben Easher for this 1999 article from Anodyne Magazine Online which includes such tidbits …

Punk Rock vs. New Wave Economics and Politics – Holly Homan and Friends Respond to 1981 News Report on Seattle Punk Scene

In the news report above, two reporters try to explain the punk scene versus the new wave music scenes of Seattle in 1981. Although the report was pretty shallow, it also tried to discredit punk the way almost all the media did at the time. The reporters mentioned punk bands liked to use shock tactics …