opinion

Opinion pieces from the left, right, and everyone in between.

Baby, It's Politically Correct Outside
BRYCE ON POLITICS Attacking Holiday Programming Click for AUDIO VERSION. 'Tis the season, not for Christmas or any other religious holiday, but for political correctness. It appears the holidays have triggered a wave of criticism over audio/video classics as heard and seen for years over our airwaves. This is just another example of political correctness running amok.
By Tim Bryce7 years ago in The Swamp
Markle Fans Crossing a Line
How far are you willing to go to defend somebody you never met but your idolize because they're famous? That's a question we should all ask ourselves when we read something online about somebody we look up to but don't necessarily agree with. Are you willing to tear down other people or even go so far as threatening another person because they have an opinion that differs from yours?
By CC King7 years ago in The Swamp
Permanent Exit for the Former Milquetoast-in-Chief
Aside from the dry bromides, empty promises, and stale platitudes, the now deceased former President of the United States George Herbert Walker Bush stood for weakness. He may’ve been a decorated Navy veteran but somehow he lost the nerve in later years. When it came to running for office, he sought to be a people pleaser and stretched himself too thin in appeasing everyone.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in The Swamp
Image and Truth
Image and truth. Do political distortions win elections? There is a very old fable; about truth going about the world naked and unadorned; and was shunned by all. Yet parable went about in fine clothes and with misleading words and everyone loved them. So the idea that image is more popular than truth is a very old one. What has changed is the professionalism of the image makers and the deliberate use of image to mislead voters.
By Peter Rose7 years ago in The Swamp
What to Do About Illegal Immigration?
BRYCE ON IMMIGRATION —Let's try something else, such as education. Click for AUDIO VERSION. Last Sunday (November 25th) a group from the "Caravan," a group of Central American migrants marching to the U.S. border, breached the border and tried to elude Homeland Security officers. In the process, some hurled rocks and bottles at U.S. officials who, in turn, shot tear gas at the crowd to break it up. No lethal force was used and about 50 people were apprehended after illegally crossing the border. All will likely be deported.
By Tim Bryce7 years ago in The Swamp
What I Would Do if I Were President
"I'm no leader. I do what I have to do. Sometimes, people come with me." —Edgar Friendly, from the movie Demolition Man There is more to this quote from one of my all-time favourite films, but it is rather beside the point and has a curse word. But it does pretty much describe me as a leader.
By Johann Hollar7 years ago in The Swamp
You've Been Throttled!
Net neutrality is still a hot topic even though it has been some time since the repeal. We get on the internet for entertainment, to socialize with friends, family or long-time online acquaintances.
By Bonnie Simpson7 years ago in The Swamp
European Immigration
In Europe, immigration has evolved and contributed to cultural and economic stimulation however in my opinion, these changes, in the end, are positive. As far as I am concerned, when looking at the history of Europe, immigration commenced when Europeans would emigrate to other countries across the globe to colonise other nations. For centuries, merchants, craftsmen and intellectuals crossed continents to practice a trade. Aside from voluntary immigration, forced immigration also was widespread in Europe, for example, The expulsion of Jews from Spain to the wars between Russia, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires. Since the 1980s, the number of asylum seekers has increased vastly. In 1984, there were around 104,000 immigrants in Europe, by 1992 there were around 700,000. It seems to me that as the number of asylum seekers rises, the more European countries start to protect and close-off their country. The reason for this rise is mainly because of war, safety, and career opportunities.
By B B7 years ago in The Swamp
The War on Christmas
It's that time of the year again. You put up your Christmas trees, hang a wreath, maxing out your credit card buying crap that will only satisfy your family members for one year and even getting that holiday ham to stick into the oven. The best time of the year for some of us
By Johann Hollar7 years ago in The Swamp
Gun Control
There was recently a shooting at Mercy hospital in Chicago. I live in the suburbs, so this hit close to home. It also gave me a minor panic attack when I got an alert on my phone that there was a shooting at Chicago hospital and didn't say which one. Details are important and should be displayed on phone alerts. Anyway, as with most shootings, the topic of gun control came into play again. Living in a pro-gun house, a family member's immediate reaction was to ask me to get my concealed carry license. Believe me, with recent stories in the news, the thought has often crossed my mind. Honestly though, I don't feel safe carrying because I have seizures. I don't feel safe having guns in my house because I have seizures and a young child that lives with me. There's no reason for me, personally, to own a gun inside my house at this time. I've taken gun safety courses, I know how to operate a gun, I have my FOID card, and I love going to the shooting range. I am not a monster, I'm just someone who's explored their options and the legal ways in which to own and operate them.
By Michelle Schultz7 years ago in The Swamp
Austerity Britain Is Like a Modern Day Dickens Novel
I have been engaged with politics since the Conservatives came into power via a coalition government, back in 2010. I can remember feeling, even at 16, that my life was going to change for the worst. I come from a proud working-class background in Liverpool, in the north of England: a staunch Labour stronghold, with deep socialist roots; a place that past Conservative governments (namely under Thatcher) have tried to destroy. Education schemes, funding, signposts to opportunities not afforded to the generations before me, and not least, sacrifices by my ever-supportive mother, have meant that I was the first in my family to go to university—despite the enormous tuition fees and interest rates on student loans imposed by the Tories, to try and keep people like me out of the world of the educational elite. Waving goodbye to Labour in 2010, and beckoning in the past eight years of austerity under the Tories, have done untold harm to cities like mine—and the end does not seem to be in sight.
By P.O. Williams7 years ago in The Swamp
We Repress, We Obey, and We Live
The alarm rings at 6AM, you swipe unlock on your iPhone 7 and turn off the ear-splitting sound that daunts you to remember your 9-5. You begin to think… Must you continue living life with the absolute fear and resentment to ‘rise and shine,’ to face a world that is so dysfunctional, and relive each day the same as the last because we are all controlled to operate, if not, obey to the order of those who reign supreme through a vote which we call ‘democracy’. The answer is yes. You rise, you shower, you brush, you dress, you eat and you leave. You leave to a job which holds back your dreams, your desires and your happiness. You leave yourself forever clinging to the inevitability that this is all that is, and all that will be. You stand, unable to breathe through the compelling thought of the never-ending debts of life, and the constraining disbelief that you are in fact, free, to do-as-you-please. We understand, that yes, we have the choice of freedom, but how can one be free without an income which is received through a 40-hour week, which pays for the shelter we sleep, the food we devour and the water we bathe and drink. But we are free, unattached, uncommitted and unrestrained to a position we hate, yet… we are not free from poverty. Can we rely on refuge from those we call our family and friends, those we know are continuously living life with the absolute fear and resentment to ‘rise and shine,’ to face a world that is so dysfunctional, and relive each day the same as the last. The answer is no. So, we continue, we obey, we repress and we live… because, after all, hard work is one of the most valuable necessities of life. So valuable, that we may never, in fact, meet the man which employs us, the face that destroys us, and those who underpay us. We are continuously told that we have the rights to our own freedom, but we must learn ourselves that the cost outweighs those right, and therefore, we stand in line and live by the life we believe is a choice. From the moment we are truly able to comprehend any of the world around us, we are thrown into that which is called mandatory Education. In this, we expect a fish to climb a tree the same way that a monkey can. When the truth is, we don’t all function the same. We don’t all function to understand that our lives should be more than ‘rising and shining’ to relive each day the same as the rest. We understand that life should have meaning, that we, a civilization of human beings living in a free world, should, in fact, be free. Free from the restraints of the five days of hell and the two days of freedom. We will forever be programmed to live the life we live until we are able to break free. We create lives, children, families, and homes, with the crippling debts of a mortgage, health care cuts and free school means been a thing of the past. We create a life for another when we, ourselves, cannot make a life without the need to live each day the same as the rest.. .because that’s our survival. And until our fight for true survival ends, we will sleep… the only true redemption from the civilization we call humanity… The alarm rings 6AM, you swipe to unlock on your iPhone 7 and turn off the ear-splitting sound that daunts you to remember your 9-5.
By tezzaxoo7 years ago in The Swamp