Michael O. Allen

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  • A worthy comment

    Script: Finally tonight as promised, a Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast. Some parameters, as preface. This isn’t about yelling, and this isn’t about politics, and this isn’t really…

  • Another inauguration morning

    Inaugural Poem, 20 January 1993 On the Pulse of the Morning by Maya Angelou A Rock, A River, A Tree Hosts to species long since departed, Marked the mastodon. The dinosaur, who left dry tokens Of their sojourn here On our planet floor, Any broad alarm of their hastening doom Is lost in the gloom…

  • A Mercy

    Nobel laureate and Pulitzer-prize winner Toni Morrison has a new book, “A Mercy,” out. I cannot wait to get my hands on it. From a review in the village voice: Seventy-seven-year-old Morrison sets her story down in primeval America in the 1680s, before slavery is institutionalized but when the law grants “license to any white…

  • Worth a try, right?

    You’ve got to give these folks credit for trying: Victory in Iraq On this November 22, 2008, join us in observing Victory in Iraq Day. Let us honor the sacrifice, dedication and sheer determination of American, coalition and Iraqi troops who have brought freedom to the nation and people of Iraq. Although our governments have…

  • City for $ale*

    Alvaro Diaz-Rubio I am a big fan of Wayne Barrett of the Village Voice. The past week ended without me hearing much about his piece exposing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the seamy dealings he pulled to get the city’s money and political class to knuckle under and allow him to run for…

  • Worth a try, right?

    You’ve got to give these folks credit for trying: Victory in Iraq On this November 22, 2008, join us in observing Victory in Iraq Day. Let us honor the sacrifice, dedication and sheer determination of American, coalition and Iraqi troops who have brought freedom to the nation and people of Iraq. Although our governments have…

  • A perspective on Obama’s election

    The Central Virginia Progressive-The DAVISReport sends us The Ethnicity of our President Elect and how it changes the paradigm A friend sent me the essay below and when I read it I knew I had to share it on this blog. The author, Mr Robert J. House, in his 70’s, is a retired professional man…

  • An important question

    I will admit that I grew to dislike Hillary Clinton during the year and found how she ran her campaign as well as the contest with Sen. Barack Obama more than disgraceful. I don’t want her as secretary of state. The president-elect is a lot smarter man than I’ll ever be so, if he wants…

  • True words

    My friend Todd Drew has a writing voice that drives me to envy. Lately, he has been posting his ruminations on the Yankees and life in general at Bronx Banter. His latest post there just blew me away. This is what Todd did. He took his thoughts and set them to music–the poetry of Langston…

  • I don’t hate Prince, just his views

    Sometime in the late to mid 1970s, Prince announced himself not only as a musical genius, but as a social revolutionary. By highlighting different lifestyles and playing with (in his music as wells as personal style) sexuality and androgyny, for instance, Prince opened all of our eyes to the way people live. That earlier Prince…